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Noach (parsha)
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Noach or Noah is the second weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish
cycle of Torah reading
. It constitutes Genesis . Jews read it on the second Sabbath
after Simchat Torah
, generally in October or November.
The parshah tells the stories of the Flood and Noah’s Ark, of Noah’s subsequent drunkenness and cursing
of Canaan, and of the Tower of Babel
.
was a righteous man, blameless in his age, who walked with God
. Noah had three sons: Shem
, Ham
, and Japheth
.
God saw that all flesh on earth had become corrupt and lawless, and God told Noah that God had decided to bring a flood to destroy all flesh. God directed Noah to make an ark
of gopher wood
and cover it with pitch
inside and outside. The Ark was to be 300 cubit
s long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high, and have an opening for daylight near the top, an entrance on its side, and three decks. God told Noah that God would establish a covenant
with Noah, and that he, his sons, his wife, his sons’ wives, and two of each kind of beast — male and female — would survive in the Ark.
Seven days before the Flood, God told Noah to go into the Ark with his household, and to take seven pairs of every clean animal
and every bird, and one pair of every other animal, to keep their species alive. When Noah was 600 years old, the Flood came, and that same day, Noah, his family and the beasts went into the Ark, and God shut him in. The rains fell 40 days and 40 nights, the waters swelled 15 cubits above the highest mountains, and all flesh with the merest breath of life died, except for Noah and those with him on the Ark.
When the waters had swelled 150 days, God remembered Noah and the beasts, and God caused a wind to blow and the waters to recede steadily from the earth, and the Ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat
. At the end of 40 days, Noah opened the window and sent out a raven, and it went to and fro. Then he sent out a dove to see if the waters had decreased from the ground, but the dove could not find a resting place, and returned to the Ark.
He waited another seven days, and again sent out the dove, and the dove came back toward evening with an olive leaf. He waited another seven days and sent out the dove, and it did not return. When Noah removed the covering of the Ark, he saw that the ground was drying. God told Noah to come out of the Ark with his family and to free the animals.
Then Noah built an altar
to God and offered burnt offerings
of every clean animal and of every clean bird. God smelled the pleasing odor and vowed never again to doom the earth because of man, as man’s imaginings are evil from his youth, but God would preserve the seasons so long as the earth endured.
God blessed Noah and his sons to be fertile and increase, and put the fear of them into all the beasts, which God gave into their hands to eat. God prohibited eating flesh with its life-blood
in it. God would require a reckoning of every man’s and beast’s life-blood, and whoever shed the blood of man would have his blood shed by man, for in God’s image
did God make man. God told them to be fertile and increase. And God made a covenant with Noah, his sons, and every living thing that never again would a flood destroy the earth. God set the rainbow in the clouds as the sign of God’s covenant with earth, so that when the bow appeared in the clouds, God would remember God’s covenant and the waters would never again flood to destroy all flesh.
Noah lived to the age of 950 and then died.
had a son named Nimrod
, who became the first man of might on earth, a mighty hunter, king in Babylon
and the land of Shinar
. From there Asshur
went and built Nineveh
. Canaan’s descendants — Sidon, Heth
, the Jebusite
s, the Amorite
s, the Girgashites, the Hivites
, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites — spread out from Sidon
as far as Gerar
, near Gaza
, and as far as Sodom and Gomorrah
. Among Shem’s descendants was Eber
.
.
, who had three sons: Abram (who would become Abraham
), Nahor
, and Haran
.
Haran had a son Lot and two daughters Milcah
and Iscah, and then died in Ur
during the lifetime of his father Terah. Abram married Sarai
, and Nahor married Haran’s daughter Milcah. Sarai was barren. Terah took Abram, Sarai, and Lot and set out together from Ur for the land of Canaan, but when they had come as far as Haran, they settled there, and there Terah died.
to Haran, and subsequently reports God’s call to Abram to leave his country and his father’s house, Nehemiah
reports that God chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees.
taught that Noah was considered righteous in his generations, but would not have been considered righteous in other generations. Resh Lakish, however, maintained that if even in his generations Noah was able to be righteous, then he certainly would have been righteous in other generations. Rabbi Haninah compared Rabbi Johanan's view of Noah to a barrel of wine lying in a vault of acid. In its place, its aroma is fragrant (compared to that of the acid). Elsewhere, its aroma would not be considered fragrant. Rabbi Oshaia
compared Resh Lakish's view of Noah to a vial of spikenard
oil lying amidst refuse. If it is fragrant where it is, how much more so would it be among spices! (Babylonian Talmud
Sanhedrin 108a.)
Similarly, Rabbi Judah
and Rabbi Nehemiah
differed interpreting the words, "Noah was a just man, and perfect in his generations," in Rabbi Judah taught that only "in his generations" was he a righteous man (by comparison). Had he lived in the generation of Moses
or Samuel, he would not have been called righteous. Rabbi Judah said that in the street of the totally blind, the one-eyed man is called clear-sighted, and the infant is called a scholar. Rabbi Judah compared it to a man with a wine vault who opened one barrel and found it vinegar, opened another and found it vinegar, and opened a third to find it turning sour. When people told him that it was turning, he asked if the vault contained any better. Similarly, "in his generations" Noah was a righteous man. Rabbi Nehemiah, however, taught that if Noah was righteous even in his generation (in spite of the corrupt environment), how much more so would he have been, had he lived in the age of Moses. Rabbi Nehemiah compared Noah to a tightly closed vial of perfume in a graveyard, which nevertheless gave forth a fragrant aroma. How much more fragrant would it have been outside the graveyard. (Genesis Rabba
h 30:9.)
Rabbi Judah contrasted the words "Noah walked with God" in with God’s words to Abraham, "walk before Me," in Rabbi Judah compared it to a king who had two sons, one grown up and the other a child. The king asked the child to walk with him. But the king asked the adult to walk before him. Similarly, to Abraham, whose moral strength was great, God said, "Walk before Me." But of Noah, who was feeble, says, "Noah walked with God." (Genesis Rabbah 30:10.)
Similarly, Rabbi Abba bar Kahana read together to report God saying, "I repent that I have made them and Noah." Thus even Noah, who was left, was not worthy, save that (in the words of ) "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." (Genesis Rabbah 31:1.)
The Mishnah
concluded that the generation of the Flood and the generation of the dispersion after the Tower of Babel were both so evil as to have no share in the world to come. (Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:3; Babylonian Talmud
Sanhedrin 107b–08a.) Rabbi Akiba deduced from the words of that the generation of the Flood will have no portion in the world to come; he read the words "and every living substance was destroyed" to refer to this world and the words "that was on the face of the ground" to refer to the next world. Rabbi Judah ben Bathyra
deduced from the words "My spirit will not always enter into judgment with man" of that God will neither revive nor judge the generation of the Flood on Judgment Day. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108a.)
The Tosefta
taught that the generation of the Flood acted arrogantly before God on account of the good that God lavished on them. So (in the words of Job
) “they said to God: ‘Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of Your ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what profit should we have, if we pray unto Him?’” They scoffed that they needed God for only a few drops of rain, and they deluded themselves that they had rivers and wells that were more than enough for them, and as reports, “there rose up a mist from the earth.” God noted that they took excess pride based upon the goodness that God lavished on them, so God replied that with that same goodness God would punish them. And thus reports, “And I, behold, I do bring the flood of waters upon the earth.” (Tosefta Sotah 3:6–8.) Similarly, the Rabbis taught in a Baraita
that the good that God lavished upon the generation of the Flood led them to become arrogant. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108a.)
Interpreting the words, "And the earth was corrupt before God," in a Baraita of the School of Rabbi Ishmael taught that whenever Scripture uses the word "corruption," it refers to sexual immorality and idolatry. Reference to sexual immorality appears in which says, "for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth" (and the use of the term "their way" connotes sexual matters, as Proverbs
indicates when it says, "the way of a man with a young woman"). And Deuteronomy shows that "corruption" connotes idolatry when it says, "lest you deal corruptly , and make a graven image." (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 57a.)
Rabbi Johanan deduced from the words "all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth" in that they mated domesticated animals with wild animals, and animals with humans. Rav Abba bar Kahana taught that after the Flood, they all returned to their own kind, except for the tushlami bird. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108a.)
Interpreting Rabbi Johanan deduced that the consequences of robbery are great. For though the generation of the Flood transgressed all laws, God sealed their decree of punishment only because they robbed. In God told Noah that "the earth is filled with violence (that is, robbery) through them, and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth." And Ezekiel
also states, "Violence (that is, robbery) is risen up into a rod of wickedness; none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor any of theirs; neither shall there be wailing for them." Rabbi Eleazar interpreted to teach that violence stood up before God like a staff, and told God that there was no good in any of the generation of the Flood, and none would bewail them when they were gone. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108a.)
Similarly, midrash
interpreted the words, "the earth is filled with violence," in to teach that it was because they were steeped in robbery that they were blotted out from the world. (Genesis Rabbah 31:1; see also 31:2–4.)
Interpreting Rabbi Haninah told what the people of the age of the Flood used to do. When a person brought out a basket of beans for sale, one would come and seize less than the worth of the smallest coin in circulation, a perutah (and thus there was no redress under the law). And then everyone would come and seize less than a perutah's worth, so that the seller had no redress at law. Seeing this, God said that the people had acted improperly, so God would deal with them improperly (in a way that they would not relish). (Genesis Rabbah 31:5.)
Interpreting Rabbi Levi taught that "violence" connotes idolatry, sexual immorality, and murder, as well as robbery. Reference to sexual immorality appears in Jeremiah
which says, "The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon" (and שְׁאֵר, she'er refers to sexual immorality, for example, in Leviticus ). And reference to murder appears in Joel
which says, "for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land." (Genesis Rabbah 31:6.)
Interpreting God’s words in "I will destroy them with the earth," Rav Huna
and Rabbi Jeremiah
in Rav Kahana's name taught that the Flood washed away even the three handbreadths of the Earth's surface that a plough
turns. It was as if a prince had a tutor, and whenever the prince did wrong, the king punished the tutor. Or it was as if a young prince had a nurse, and whenever the prince did wrong, the king punished the nurse. Similarly, God said that God would destroy the generation of the Flood along with the earth that nurtured them. (Genesis Rabbah 31:7.)
Rav Adda
taught that the scholars of Rav Shila
interpreted "gopher wood" in to mean mabliga (a resinous species of cedar), while others maintained it was golamish (a very hard and stone-like species of cedar). (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b.)
While tells that Noah’s Ark had pitch "within and without," Exodus tells that Jochebed
daubed the Ark of the infant Moses "with slime and with pitch." A Tanna
taught that the slime was inside and the pitch outside so that that righteous child would not have to smell the bad odor of the pitch. (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 12a.)
Rabbi Johanan interpreted the words, "A light shall you make to the Ark," in to teach that God instructed Noah to set therein luminous precious stones and jewels, so that they might give light as bright as noon . (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b.) Similarly, Rav Achava bar Zeira taught that when Noah entered the Ark, he brought precious stones and jewels with him to keep track of day and night. When the jewels shone dimly, he knew that it was daytime, and when they shone brightly, he knew that it was night. The Gemara
noted that it was important for Noah to be able to tell day from night, for some animals eat only during the day, and others east only during the night, and thus Noah could determine the proper feeding times for the animals under his care. The Gemara noted that if in God told Noah, “A window shall you make to the ark,” then Noah should have been able to tell day from night. The Gemara explained that Noah needed the jewels because the account of Noah bringing jewels into the Ark followed the view that the celestial bodies – including the sun – did not serve during the year of the Flood. (Thus, no sunlight entered the Ark, and must refer to jewels rather than a window.) (Jerusalem Talmud
Pesachim 2a.)
The Gemara read the words, "and to a cubit shall you finish it upward," in to ensure that thus would it stand firm (with the sides of the roof sloping, so that the rain would fall off it). (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b.)
A Tanna read the words, "with lower, second, and third stories shall you make it," in to teach that the bottom story was for the dung, the middle for the animals, and the top for Noah’s family. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b.) A midrash, however, reported that some said that the words, "with lower, second, and third stories shall you make it," meant that the bottom story was for waste, the second for Noah’s family and the clean animals, and the third for the unclean animals. And the midrash reported that others said that the bottom story was for the unclean animals, the second for Noah’s family and the clean animals, and the top for the garbage. The midrash taught that Noah managed to move the waste by arranging a kind of trapdoor through which he shoveled it sideways. (Genesis Rabbah 31:11.)
Noting that calls Noah "a man," a midrash taught that wherever Scripture employs the term "a man," it indicates a righteous man who warned his generation. The midrash taught that for 120 years (deduced from ), Noah planted cedars and cut them down. When they would ask him what he was doing, he would reply that God had informed him that God was bringing a flood. Noah’s contemporaries replied that if a flood did come, it would come only on Noah’s father’s house. Rabbi Abba taught that God said that one herald arose for God in the generation of the Flood — Noah. But they despised him and called him a contemptible old man. (Genesis Rabbah 30:7.)
Similarly, Rabbi Jose of Caesarea read the words, "He is swift upon the face of the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth, he turns not by the way of the vineyards," in to teach that the righteous Noah rebuked his contemporaries. Noah urged them to repent, or God would bring a deluge upon them and cause their bodies to float upon the water like gourds, reading to say, "He floats lightly upon the face of the waters." Moreover, Noah told them that they would be taken as a curse for all future generations, as says, "their portion is cursed." And Rabbi Jose of Caesarea taught that the words, "he turns not by the way of the vineyards," indicate that as the people worked in their vineyards, they asked Noah what prevented God from bringing the Flood at that moment. And Noah replied that God had one dear one, one dove, to draw out before God could bring the Flood. (That is, the aged Methuselah
had to die first, so that he would not suffer the punishment of the Flood). (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108a.)
Similarly, a midrash taught that Noah reproved them, calling them good-for-nothings who forsook the One whose voice breaks cedars, to worship a dry log. But they reacted as in Amos
which says, "They hate him that reproves in the gate, and they abhor him that speaks uprightly." (Genesis Rabbah 31:3.)
And Raba
interpreted the words of "He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a stone despised in the thought of him that is at ease," to teach that when Noah rebuked them and spoke words as hard as fiery flints, they would deride him. They called Noah "old man," and asked him what the Ark was for. Noah replied that God was bringing a flood upon them. They asked with what God would flood the earth. If God brought a flood of fire, they said, they had a thing called alitha (that would extinguish fire). If God brought a flood of water up from the earth, they said, they had iron plates with which they could cover the earth (to prevent the water from coming up). If God brought a flood of water from heaven, they said, they had a thing called akob (or some say akosh) (that could ward it off). Noah replied that God would bring it from between the heels of their feet, as says, "He is ready for the steps of your feet." (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b.)
Similarly, a Baraita interpreted to teach that the waters of the Flood were as hot and viscous as bodily fluids. And Rav Hisda
taught that since it was with hot passion that they sinned, it was with hot water that they were punished. For says, "And the water cooled" , and Esther
says, "Then the king's wrath cooled down" . (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b; see also Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 12a; Zevachim 113b.)
Rabbi Hanan said in the name of Rabbi Samuel ben Isaac that as soon as Noah entered the Ark, God prohibited his family from cohabitation, saying in "you shall come into the Ark, you, and your sons," speaking of them apart, and, "your wife, and your sons’ wives," speaking of them apart. When Noah left the Ark, God permitted cohabitation to him again, saying in "Go forth from the Ark, you and your wife," speaking of them together. (Genesis Rabbah 31:12.) Similarly, Rabbi Johanan deduced from the same sources that God had forbidden cohabitation for all the Ark’s inhabitants. The Rabbis taught in a Baraita that three nonetheless cohabited in the Ark — the dog, the raven, and Ham — and they were all punished. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b.)
said in Rabbi Jonathan
's name that the command means of those animals with which no sin had been committed (that is, animals that had not mated with other species). The Gemara asked how Noah would know. Rav Hisda taught that Noah led them past the Ark, and those that the Ark accepted had certainly not been the object of sin, while those that the Ark rejected had certainly been the object of sin. And Rabbi Abbahu
taught that Noah took only those animals (fulfilling that condition) that came of their own accord. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b; see also Zevachim 116a.) Similarly, Rav Hisda asked how Noah knew (before the giving of ) which animals were clean and which were unclean. Rav Hisda explained that Noah led them past the Ark, and those that the Ark accepted (in multiples of seven) were certainly clean, and those that the Ark rejected were certainly unclean. Rabbi Abbahu cited "And they that went in, went in male and female," to show that they went in of their own accord (in their respective pairs, seven of the clean and two of the unclean). (Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 116a.)
Reading in the command to take into the Ark "of the fowl also of the air, seven each," a midrash hypothesized that the command might have meant seven of each kind of animal (three of one gender and four of the other). But then one of them would lack a mate. Hence the midrash concluded that God meant seven males and seven females. Of course God did not need them, but they were to come (in the words of ) "to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth." (Genesis Rabbah 32:4.)
Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai taught that because the generation of the Flood transgressed the Torah that God gave humanity after Moses had stayed on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights (as reported in and and 18, 25, and ), God announced in that God would "cause it to rain upon the earth 40 days and 40 nights." Similarly, Rabbi Johanan taught that because the generation of the Flood corrupted the features that take shape after 40 days (in the womb), God announced in that God would "cause it to rain upon the earth 40 days and 40 nights, and every living substance that I have made will I blot out." (Genesis Rabbah 32:5.)
Reading in that God said, "every living substance that I have made will I blot out," Rabbi Abin taught that this included the one who rose up against his brother — Cain
. Rabbi Levi said in the name of Resh Lakish that God kept Cain’s judgment in suspense until the Flood and then God swept Cain away. And thus Rabbi Levi read to say, "And He blotted out every one that had arisen." (Genesis Rabbah 32:5.)
A midrash read the words "And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him," in narrowly to refer to the taking in of the animals, beasts, and birds. (Genesis Rabbah 32:5.)
The Gemara read to employ the euphemistic expression "not clean," instead of the brief, but disparaging expression "unclean," so as not to speak disparagingly of unclean animals. The Gemara reasoned that it was thus likely that Scripture would use euphemisms when speaking of the faults of righteous people, as with the words, "And the eyes of Leah
were weak," in (Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 123a; see also Genesis Rabbah 32:4 (attributing a similar teaching to Rabbi Judan in Rabbi Johanan’s name).)
Reading in that "it came to pass, after seven days, that the waters of the Flood were upon the earth," the Gemara asked what the nature of these seven days was (that God delayed the Flood on their account). Rab
taught that these were the days of mourning for Methuselah, and thus that lamenting the righteous postpones retribution. Another explanation is that during "the seven days" God reversed the order of nature (established at the beginning of creation), and the sun rose in the west and set in the east (so that sinners might be shocked into repentance). Another explanation is that God first appointed for them a long time (the 120 years to which alludes), and then a short time (a seven-day grace period in which to repent). Another explanation is that during "the seven days," God gave them a foretaste of the world to come, so that they might know the nature of the rewards of which they were depriving themselves. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b.)
Rabbi Joshua
and Rabbi Eliezer
differed about when the events took place in where it says, "In the sixth hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month." Rabbi Joshua taught that the events of took place on the seventeenth day of Iyar
, when the constellation of the Pleiades
sets at daybreak and the fountains begin to dry up. Because the generation of the Flood perverted its ways (from the way of creation), God changed for them the work of creation and made the constellation of the Pleiades rise at daybreak. God took two stars from the Pleiades and brought the Flood on the world. Rabbi Eliezer, however, taught that the events of took place on the seventeenth of Cheshvan
, a day on which the constellation of the Pleiades rises at daybreak, and the season when the fountains begin to fill. Because the generation of the Flood perverted its ways (from the way of creation), God changed for them the work of creation, and caused the constellation of the Pleiades to rise at daybreak. God took away two stars from it and brought the Flood on the world. If one accepts the view of Rabbi Joshua, then one can understand why speaks of the "second month" (to describe Iyar, because describes Nisan
as the first month, and Iyar follows Nisan). If one accepts Rabbi Eliezer's view, the "second month" means the month that is second to the Day of Judgment (Rosh Hashanah
, which recognizes as the beginning of a year when it says, "The eyes of the Lord are upon it (the Land of Israel
) from the beginning of the year"). If one accepts Rabbi Joshua's view, the change in the work of creation was the change in the constellation and the waters. If one accepts Rabbi Eliezer's view, the Gemara asked what change there was in the natural order (as the constellation usually rose at that time and that time of year is usually the rainy season). The Gemara found the answer in the dictum of Rabbi Hisda, when he said that with hot passion they sinned, and with hot waters were they punished. The Rabbis taught in a Baraita that the Sages of Israel follow Rabbi Eliezer in dating the Flood (counting Rosh Hashanah as the beginning of the year) and Rabbi Joshua in dating the annual cycles (holding that God created the world in Nisan). The scholars of other peoples, however, follow Rabbi Joshua in dating the Flood as well.
(Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 11b–12a.)
Rabbi Johanan taught that because the corruption of the generation of the Flood was great, their punishment was also great. characterizes their corruption as great , saying, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth." And characterizes their punishment as great , saying, "on the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up." Rabbi Johanan reported that three of those great thermal fountains remained open after the Flood — the gulf of Gaddor, the hot-springs of Tiberias, and the great well of Biram
. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108a.)
The Gemara interpreted the words "every bird of any winged [species]" in The Gemara read the word "bird" here to refer only to clean birds, and "winged" to include both unclean birds and grasshoppers. (Babylonian Talmud Chullin 139b.)
In a Baraita, Rabbi Eleazar of Modi'im
interpreted "Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered." Rabbi Eleazar of Modi'im asked whether waters that measured fifteen cubits high on the mountains could also measure fifteen cubits in the valley. To do so, the waters would have to stand like a series of walls (terraced with the topography). And if so, the ark could not have come to rest on the top of the mountains. Rather, Rabbi Eleazar of Modi'im taught that all the fountains of the great deep came up first until the water was even with the mountains, and then the water rose fifteen more cubits. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 76a.)
Reading in that "all that was on the dry land died," the Gemara deduced that the fish in the sea did not die (apparently not having committed the transgressions that land animals had). (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108a; see also Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 113b.)
The Tosefta taught that the Flood killed people before animals (as seen in the order of ), because man sinned first (as shown in ). (Tosefta Sotah 4:11.)
Rabbi
taught that, in conferring honor, the Bible commences with the greatest, in cursing with the least important. With regard to cursing, the Gemara reasoned that Rabbi must have meant the punishment of the Flood, as says, "And He blotted out every living substance which was upon the face of the ground, both man and cattle," starting with the people before the cattle. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 61a.)
Reading in that "every living substance was destroyed that was upon the face of the ground" — people and animals alike — the Gemara asked how the beasts had sinned (to deserve this punishment). A Baraita on the authority of Rabbi Joshua ben Karha
compared this to a father who set up a bridal canopy for his son, and prepared a banquet with every sort of food. But then his son died. So the father broke up the canopy, saying that he had prepared it only for his son. Now that the son was dead, the father had no need for a banquet. Thus God created the animals only for the benefit of people. Now that people had sinned, God had no need for the animals. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108a.)
The Mishnah taught that those who vow not to benefit from the children of Noah may not benefit from non-Jews, but may benefit from Jews. (Mishnah Nedarim 3:11; Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 31a.) The Gemara asked how Jews could be excluded from the “children of Noah,” as indicates that all humanity descended from Noah. The Gemara answered that since God singled out Abraham, Jews are considered descendants of Abraham. (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 31a.)
Similarly, interpreting the words, "and it went forth to and fro" in Rabbi Judan said in the name of Rabbi Judah ben Rabbi Simon that the raven began arguing with Noah. The raven asked Noah why of all the birds that Noah had in the Ark Noah sent none but the raven. Noah retorted that the world had no need of the raven; the raven was fit neither for food nor for sacrifice. Rabbi Berekiah
said in Rabbi Abba's name that God told Noah to take that back, because the world would need ravens in the future. Noah asked God when the world would need ravens. God replied that (in the words of ) "when the waters dry off from on the earth," a righteous man (Elijah) would arise and dry up the world (threatening drought, and then see the threat fulfilled). And God would cause him to have need of ravens, as 1 Kings
reports, "And the ravens brought him bread and flesh." Rabbi Judah maintained that the word orvim referred to a town within the borders of Bashan
called Arbo. But Rabbi Nehemiah insisted that literally meant ravens, and the ravens brought Elijah food from King Jehoshaphat
's table. (Genesis Rabbah 33:5.)
From the discussion of the dove in Rabbi Jeremiah deduced that the clean fowl lived with the righteous people on the Ark. (Of the raven, says, "he sent forth a raven." But of the dove, says, "he sent forth a dove from him" indicating that the dove was with him.) (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b.)
Reading of the dove in "and lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf," a midrash asked where the dove found it. Rabbi Abba taught that the dove brought it from the young shoots of the Land of Israel. Rabbi Levi taught that the dove brought it from the Mount of Olives
, for the Flood had not submerged the Land of Israel. Thus God told Ezekiel
(in ): "Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon on the day of indignation.’" Rabbi Birai (or some say Rabbi Berekiah) taught that the gates of the Garden of Eden
were opened for the dove, and from there the dove brought the olive leaf. Rabbi Abbahu asked if the dove had brought it from the Garden of Eden, would the dove not have brought something better, like cinnamon or a balsam leaf. But in fact the dove was giving Noah a hint, saying to him in effect that better is bitterness from God than sweetness from Noah’s hand. (Genesis Rabbah 33:6.)
Similarly, reading of the dove in "and lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf," Rabbi Eleazar (or others say Rabbi Jeremiah ben Eleazar) taught that the dove prayed to God that God might let the dove’s sustenance be as bitter as the olive but given by God, rather than sweet as honey and given by flesh and blood (upon whom the dove was therefore dependent). (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b (attributing to Rabbi Eleazar); Eruvin 18b (attributing to Rabbi Jeremiah ben Eleazar).)
A midrash taught that when says, "Bring my soul out of prison," it refers to Noah’s imprisonment 12 months in the Ark, and when says, "for You will deal bountifully with me," it refers to God’s bounty to Noah when God told Noah in "Go forth from the Ark." (Genesis Rabbah 34:1.)
Rabbi Johanan interpreted the words, "After their kinds they went forth from the Ark," in to teach that the animals went out by their families, not alone. Rabbi Hana bar Bizna taught that Abraham's servant Eliezer
once inquired of Noah’s son Shem about these words in asking Shem how his family managed. Shem replied that they had a difficult time in the Ark. During the day they fed the animals that usually fed by day, and during the night they fed those that normally fed by night. But Noah did not know what the chameleon
ate. One day Noah was cutting a pomegranate
, when a worm dropped out of it, and the chameleon ate it. From then on, Noah mashed up bran for the chameleon, and when the bran became wormy, the chameleon would eat. A fever struck the lion
, so it lived off of its reserves rather than eating other animals. Noah discovered the avarshinah bird (some say the phoenix
bird) lying in the hold of the Ark and asked it if it needed food. The bird told Noah that it saw that Noah was busy and decided not to give him any more trouble. Noah replied by asking that it be God’s will that the bird not perish, as says, "Then I said: ‘I shall die with my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the phoenix.’" (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b.)
A midrash recounted that Noah fed and provided for the Ark’s inhabitants for all of 12 months. But Rav Huna said in Rabbi Liezer's name that when Noah was leaving the Ark, a lion nonetheless set on him and maimed him, so that he was not fit to offer sacrifices, and his son Shem sacrificed in his stead. The midrash took this as an application of the words of "the righteous shall be requited on earth; how much more the wicked and the sinner." From this, the midrash inferred that if in spite of his comparative righteousness, Noah was punished for his sins, "how much more" was the generation of the Flood. (Genesis Rabbah 30:6.)
Rav Huna cited the report in that Noah offered burnt offerings from every clean animal and bird to support the proposition in a Baraita that all animals were eligible to be offered, as the words "animal" (behemah) and bird (bear) refer to any animal or bird, and the term "animal" (behemah) includes wild beasts (hayyah). (Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 115b.)
Rabbi Haninah cited the report of that "the Lord smelled the sweet savor; and . . . said . . . ‘I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake,’" for the proposition that those who allow themselves to be pacified when drinking wine possess some of the characteristics of the Creator. (Babylonian Talmud Eruvin 65a.)
Rav Awira (or some say Rabbi Joshua ben Levi
) taught that the Evil Inclination has seven names. God called it "Evil" in saying, "the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth." Moses called it "the Uncircumcised" in saying, "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart." David
called it "Unclean" in Solomon
called it "the Enemy" in Isaiah
called it "the Stumbling-Block" in Ezekiel
called it "Stone" in and Joel
called it "the Hidden One" in (Babylonian Talmud Sukkah 52a.)
The Rabbis interpreted to set forth seven Noahide laws binding on all people: (1) to set up courts of justice, (2) not to commit idolatry, (3) not to commit blasphemy, (4) not to commit sexual immorality, (5) not to commit bloodshed , (6) not to commit robbery, and (7) not to eat flesh cut from a living animal . (Tosefta Avodah Zarah 8:4–6; see also Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 56a; Genesis Rabbah 34:8.) Rabbi Hanina taught that they were also commanded not to consume blood from a living animal. Rabbi Leazar taught that they were also commanded not to cross-breed animals. Rabbi Simeon taught that they were also commanded not to commit witchcraft. Rabbi Johanan taught that they were also commanded not to emasculate animals. And Rabbi Assi
taught that the children of Noah were also prohibited to do anything stated in "There shall not be found among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one that uses divination, a soothsayer, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or one that consults a ghost or a familiar spirit, or a necromancer." (Genesis Rabbah 34:8.) The Tosefta instructed that Israelites should not tempt anyone to violate a Noahide law. (Tosefta Demai 2:24.)
Rabbi Shimon ben Eleazar deduced from that even a one-day-old child scares small animals, but said that the corpse of even the giant Og
of Bashan
would need to be guarded from weasels and rats. (Tosefta Shabbat 17:19.)
Rabbi Tanhum ben Hanilai compared the laws of kashrut
to the case of a physician who went to visit two patients, one whom the physician judged would live, and the other whom the physician judged would die. To the one who would live, the physician gave orders about what to eat and what not to eat. On the other hand, the physician told the one who would die to eat whatever the patient wanted. Thus to the nations who were not destined for life in the World to Come, God said in "Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you." But to Israel, whom God intended for life in the World to Come, God said in "These are the living things which you may eat." (Leviticus Rabbah
13:2.)
Rabbi Akiva
said that it demonstrated the value of human beings that God created us in God’s image, and that it was an act of still greater love that God let us know (in ) that God had created us in God’s image. (Mishnah Avot 3:14.) And Rabbi Akiva also said that whoever spills blood diminishes the Divine image. (Tosefta Yevamot 8:7.) Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah and Ben Azzai both said that whoever does not have children diminishes the Divine image as demonstrated by proximity of the notice that God created us in God’s image and the command to be fruitful and multiply . (Tosefta Yevamot 8:7.) Similarly, a midrash taught that some say a man without a wife even impairs the Divine likeness, as says, “For in the image of God made He man,” and immediately thereafter says, “And you, be fruitful, and multiply (implying that the former is impaired if one does not fulfill the latter). (Genesis Rabbah 17:2.)
Rabbi Meir
taught that while it was certain that God would never again flood the world with water , God might bring a flood of fire and brimstone, as God brought upon Sodom and Gomorrah
. (Tosefta Taanit 2:13)
The Mishnah taught that the rainbow (of ) was one of ten miraculous things that God created on the sixth day of creation at twilight on the eve of the Sabbath. (Mishnah Avot 5:6.) Rabbi Jose
and Rabbi Judah disagreed whether verses of remembrance referring to the rainbow needed to be said together or individually. (Tosefta Rosh Hashanah 2:14)
The Gemara helped explain why (as reports) God chose a rainbow as the symbol of God’s promise. The Mishnah taught with regard to those who take no thought for the honor of their Maker, that it would have been better if they had not been born. (Mishnah Chagigah 2:1; Babylonian Talmud Chagigah 11b.) Rabbi Abba read this Mishnah to refer to those who stare at a rainbow, while Rav Joseph said that it refers to those who commit transgressions in secret. The Gemara explained that those who stare at a rainbow affront God’s honor, as compares God’s appearance to that of a rainbow: "As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord." Thus those who stare at a rainbow behave as if they were staring directly at God. Similarly, Rabbi Judah ben Rabbi Nahmani, the speaker for Resh Lakish, taught that because compares God’s appearance to that of a rainbow, staring at the rainbow harms one’s eyesight. (Babylonian Talmud Chagigah 16a.)
The Talmud deduced two possible explanations (attributed to Rav
and Rabbi Samuel
) for what Ham did to Noah to warrant Noah's curse of Canaan. According to one explanation, Ham castrated
Noah, while the other says that Ham sexually abused Noah. The textual argument for castration goes this way: Since Noah cursed Ham by his fourth son Canaan, Ham must have injured Noah with respect to a fourth son, by emasculating him, thus depriving Noah of the possibility of a fourth son. The argument for abuse from the text draws an analogy between "and he saw" written in two places in the Bible: With regard to Ham and Noah, it was written, "And Ham the father of Canaan saw the nakedness of his father (Noah)"; while in , it was written, "And when Shechem the son of Hamor saw her (Dinah
), he took her and lay with her and defiled her." Thus this explanation deduced that similar abuse must have happened each time that the Bible uses the same language. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 70a. See also Genesis Rabbah 36:7; Leviticus Rabbah 17:5.)
employed to interpret the words "and Hebron was built seven years before Zoan
in Egypt
" in Numbers
to mean that Hebron was seven times as fertile as Zoan. The Baraita rejected the plain meaning of "built," reasoning that Ham would not build a house for his younger son Canaan (in whose land was Hebron) before he built one for his elder son Mizraim
(in whose land was Zoan, and lists (presumably in order of birth) "the sons of Ham: Cush, and Mizraim, and Put
, and Canaan." The Baraita also taught that among all the nations, there was none more fertile than Egypt, for says, "Like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt." And there was no more fertile spot in Egypt than Zoan, where kings lived, for says of Pharaoh
, "his princes are at Zoan." And in all of Israel, there was no more rocky ground than that at Hebron, which is why the Patriarchs buried their dead there, as reported in But rocky Hebron was still seven times as fertile as lush Zoan. (Babylonian Talmud Ketubot 112a.)
Rab and Samuel
equated the Amraphel of with the Nimrod
whom describes as "a mighty warrior on the earth," but the two differed over which was his real name. One held that his name was actually Nimrod
, and calls him Amraphel because he ordered Abraham to be cast into a burning furnace (and thus the name Amraphel reflects the words for "he said" (amar) and "he cast" (hipil)). But the other held that his name was actually Amraphel, and calls him Nimrod because he led the world in rebellion against God (and thus the name Nimrod reflects the word for "he led in rebellion" (himrid)). (Babylonian Talmud Eruvin 53a.)
Rabbi Levi, or some say Rabbi Jonathan, said that a tradition handed down from the Men of the Great Assembly
taught that wherever the Bible employs the term "and it was" or "and it came to pass" , as it does in it indicates misfortune, as one can read wa-yehi as wai, hi, "woe, sorrow." Thus the words, "And it came to pass," in are followed by the words, "Come, let us build us a city," in And the Gemara also cited the instances of followed by followed by Joshua
followed by the rest of followed by 1 Samuel
followed by followed by close after followed by Ruth
followed by the rest of and Esther
followed by Haman
. But the Gemara also cited as counterexamples the words, "And there was evening and there was morning one day," in as well as and So Rav Ashi replied that wa-yehi sometimes presages misfortune, and sometimes it does not, but the expression "and it came to pass in the days of" always presages misfortune. And for that proposition, the Gemara cited and (Babylonian Talmud Megillah 10b.)
Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai taught that the report of that "the Lord came down to see the city and the tower" was one of ten instances when the Torah reports that God descended. (Genesis Rabbah 38:9.)
The Sages taught that the God who punished the generation of the Flood and the generation of the Dispersion would take vengeance on people who renege on their word after money has been paid. (Mishnah Bava Metzia 4:2; Babylonian Talmud Bava Metzia 44a.)
The Gemara taught that Abraham asked God if God would ever punish Israel for its sins as God did to the generation of the Flood or the generation of the Dispersion, and God replied that God would not. God told Abraham that God had provided the order of sacrifices for Israel in the Torah, and whenever Jews read these passages, God would consider it as if they had offered the sacrifices, and God would pardon them for all their iniquities. (Babylonian Talmud Taanit 27b, Megillah 31b.)
The Gemara taught that Sarah was one of seven prophetesses who prophesied to Israel and neither took away from nor added anything to what is written in the Torah. (The other prophetesses were Miriam, Deborah
, Hannah
, Abigail
, Huldah
, and Esther
.) The Gemara derived Sarah’s status as a prophetess from the words, "Haran, the father of Milkah and the father of Yiscah," in Rabbi Isaac taught that Yiscah was Sarah. called her Yiscah because she discerned (saketah) by means of Divine inspiration, as reports God instructing Abraham, "In all that Sarah says to you, hearken to her voice." Alternatively, called her Yiscah because all gazed (sakin) at her beauty. (Babylonian Talmud Megillah 14a.)
Rav Nahman
said in the name of Rabbah bar Abbuha that the redundant report, "And Sarai was barren; she had no child," in demonstrated that Sarah was incapable of procreation because she did not have a womb. (Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 64b.)
cited the parshah for one positive commandment
:
(Maimonides. Mishneh Torah
, Positive Commandment 212. Cairo
, Egypt, 1170–1180. Reprinted in Maimonides. The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, 1:228. London: Soncino Press, 1967. ISBN 0-900689-71-4.)
The Sefer ha-Chinuch
, however, attributed the commandment to (Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 1:82–85. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1991. ISBN 0-87306-515-8.)
for the parshah is:
. Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom
for Shabbat and Festivals, 20, 153. New York: The Rabbinical Assembly
, 2003. ISBN 0-916219-20-8. Menachem Davis. The Schottenstein Edition Siddur for the Sabbath and Festivals with an Interlinear Translation, 69, 399. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications
, 2002. ISBN 1-57819-697-3.)
Some Jews read the words "for in the image of God made He man" from as they study chapter 3 of Pirkei Avot on a Sabbath between Passover
and Rosh Hashanah
. (Davis.
Siddur for the Sabbath and Festivals, at 553.) And then they encounter the discussion of the ten generations from Adam to the Flood and then the ten generations from Noah to Abraham (enumerated in ) as they study chapter 5 of Pirkei Avot thereafter. (Davis, Siddur for the Sabbath and Festivals, at 568.)
); (to be fruitful).(God’s destruction of Egypt’s firstborn)..; . (God’s destruction of Jerusalem’s sinners); (Noah as righteous intercessor).
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
cycle of Torah reading
Torah reading
Torah reading is a Jewish religious ritual that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the Torah scroll from the ark, chanting the appropriate excerpt with special cantillation, and returning the scroll to...
. It constitutes Genesis . Jews read it on the second Sabbath
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
after Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah or Simḥath Torah is a celebration marking the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle...
, generally in October or November.
The parshah tells the stories of the Flood and Noah’s Ark, of Noah’s subsequent drunkenness and cursing
Curse
A curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to some other entity—one or more persons, a place, or an object...
of Canaan, and of the Tower of Babel
Tower of Babel
The Tower of Babel , according to the Book of Genesis, was an enormous tower built in the plain of Shinar .According to the biblical account, a united humanity of the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, came to the land of Shinar, where...
.
Summary
The Flood
NoahNoah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
was a righteous man, blameless in his age, who walked with God
Names of God in Judaism
In Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title; it represents the Jewish conception of the divine nature, and of the relationship of God to the Jewish people and to the world. To demonstrate the sacredness of the names of God, and as a means of showing respect and reverence for...
. Noah had three sons: Shem
Shem
Shem was one of the sons of Noah in the Hebrew Bible as well as in Islamic literature. He is most popularly regarded as the eldest son, though some traditions regard him as the second son. Genesis 10:21 refers to relative ages of Shem and his brother Japheth, but with sufficient ambiguity in each...
, Ham
Ham, son of Noah
Ham , according to the Table of Nations in the Book of Genesis, was a son of Noah and the father of Cush, Mizraim, Phut and Canaan.- Hebrew Bible :The story of Ham is related in , King James Version:...
, and Japheth
Japheth
Japheth is one of the sons of Noah in the Abrahamic tradition...
.
God saw that all flesh on earth had become corrupt and lawless, and God told Noah that God had decided to bring a flood to destroy all flesh. God directed Noah to make an ark
Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark is a vessel appearing in the Book of Genesis and the Quran . These narratives describe the construction of the ark by Noah at God's command to save himself, his family, and the world's animals from the worldwide deluge of the Great Flood.In the narrative of the ark, God sees the...
of gopher wood
Gopher wood
Gopher wood or gopherwood is a term used once in the Bible, for the substance from which Noah's ark was built. Gen 6:14 states that Noah was to build the Ark of גפר, gofer, more commonly gopher wood, a word not otherwise known in the Bible or in Hebrew.Although,Older English translations, including...
and cover it with pitch
Pitch (resin)
Pitch is the name for any of a number of viscoelastic, solid polymers. Pitch can be made from petroleum products or plants. Petroleum-derived pitch is also called bitumen. Pitch produced from plants is also known as resin. Products made from plant resin are also known as rosin.Pitch was...
inside and outside. The Ark was to be 300 cubit
Cubit
The cubit is a traditional unit of length, based on the length of the forearm. Cubits of various lengths were employed in many parts of the world in Antiquity, in the Middle Ages and into Early Modern Times....
s long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high, and have an opening for daylight near the top, an entrance on its side, and three decks. God told Noah that God would establish a covenant
Covenant (biblical)
A biblical covenant is an agreement found in the Bible between God and His people in which God makes specific promises and demands. It is the customary word used to translate the Hebrew word berith. It it is used in the Tanakh 286 times . All Abrahamic religions consider the Biblical covenant...
with Noah, and that he, his sons, his wife, his sons’ wives, and two of each kind of beast — male and female — would survive in the Ark.
Seven days before the Flood, God told Noah to go into the Ark with his household, and to take seven pairs of every clean animal
Kosher foods
Kosher foods are those that conform to the regulations of the Jewish Halakhic law framework, kosher meaning fit or allowed to be eaten. A list of some kosher foods are found in the book of Leviticus 11:1-47. There are also certain kosher rules found there...
and every bird, and one pair of every other animal, to keep their species alive. When Noah was 600 years old, the Flood came, and that same day, Noah, his family and the beasts went into the Ark, and God shut him in. The rains fell 40 days and 40 nights, the waters swelled 15 cubits above the highest mountains, and all flesh with the merest breath of life died, except for Noah and those with him on the Ark.
When the waters had swelled 150 days, God remembered Noah and the beasts, and God caused a wind to blow and the waters to recede steadily from the earth, and the Ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat
Mount Ararat
Mount Ararat is a snow-capped, dormant volcanic cone in Turkey. It has two peaks: Greater Ararat and Lesser Ararat .The Ararat massif is about in diameter...
. At the end of 40 days, Noah opened the window and sent out a raven, and it went to and fro. Then he sent out a dove to see if the waters had decreased from the ground, but the dove could not find a resting place, and returned to the Ark.
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
to God and offered burnt offerings
Korban
The term offering as found in the Hebrew Bible in relation to the worship of Ancient Israel is mainly represented by the Hebrew noun korban whether for an animal or other offering...
of every clean animal and of every clean bird. God smelled the pleasing odor and vowed never again to doom the earth because of man, as man’s imaginings are evil from his youth, but God would preserve the seasons so long as the earth endured.
God blessed Noah and his sons to be fertile and increase, and put the fear of them into all the beasts, which God gave into their hands to eat. God prohibited eating flesh with its life-blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
in it. God would require a reckoning of every man’s and beast’s life-blood, and whoever shed the blood of man would have his blood shed by man, for in God’s image
Image
An image is an artifact, for example a two-dimensional picture, that has a similar appearance to some subject—usually a physical object or a person.-Characteristics:...
did God make man. God told them to be fertile and increase. And God made a covenant with Noah, his sons, and every living thing that never again would a flood destroy the earth. God set the rainbow in the clouds as the sign of God’s covenant with earth, so that when the bow appeared in the clouds, God would remember God’s covenant and the waters would never again flood to destroy all flesh.
The curse on Canaan
Noah was the first to plant a vineyard, and he drank himself drunk, and uncovered himself within his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers. Shem and Japheth placed a cloth against both their backs and, walking backward, covered their father, without seeing their father’s nakedness. When Noah woke up and learned what Ham had done to him, he cursed Ham’s son Canaan to become the lowest of slaves to Japheth and Shem, prayed that God enlarge Japheth, and blessed the God of Shem.Noah lived to the age of 950 and then died.
Noah’s descendants
sets forth the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, from whom the nations branched out over the earth after the Flood. Among Japheth’s descendants were the maritime nations. Ham’s son CushBiblical Cush
Cush was the eldest son of Ham, brother of Mizraim , Canaan and the father of Nimrod, and Raamah, mentioned in the "Table of Nations" in the Genesis 10:6 and I Chronicles 1:8...
had a son named Nimrod
Nimrod (king)
Nimrod is, according to the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles, the son of Cush and great-grandson of Noah and the king of Shinar. He is depicted in the Tanakh as a man of power in the earth, and a mighty hunter. Extra-Biblical traditions associating him with the Tower of Babel led to his...
, who became the first man of might on earth, a mighty hunter, king in Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
and the land of Shinar
Shinar
Shinar was a geographical locale of uncertain boundaries in Mesopotamia. The name may be a corruption of Shene nahar , Shene or , or Sumer .It has been suggested that Shinar must have been confined to the northern part of Mesopotamia Shinar (Hebrew Šin`ar, Septuagint Σεννααρ Sennaar) was a...
. From there Asshur
Ashur
Ashur |Shin]]) in the Masoretic text, which doubles the 'ש'), was the second son of Shem, the son of Noah. Ashur's brothers were Elam, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram....
went and built Nineveh
Nineveh
Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, and capital of the Neo Assyrian Empire. Its ruins are across the river from the modern-day major city of Mosul, in the Ninawa Governorate of Iraq....
. Canaan’s descendants — Sidon, Heth
Biblical Hittites
The Hittites and children of Heth are a people or peoples mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. They are listed in Book of Genesis as second of the twelve Canaanite nations, descended from one Heth...
, the Jebusite
Jebusite
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Jebusites were a Canaanite tribe who inhabited and built Jerusalem prior to its conquest by King David; the Books of Kings state that Jerusalem was known as Jebus prior to this event...
s, the Amorite
Amorite
Amorite refers to an ancient Semitic people who occupied large parts of Mesopotamia from the 21st Century BC...
s, the Girgashites, the Hivites
Hivites
The Hivites were one group of descendants of Canaan, son of Ham, according to the Table of Nations in .- History : does not list the Hivites as being in the land that was promised to the descendants of Abraham...
, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites — spread out from Sidon
Sidon
Sidon or Saïda is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. In Genesis, Sidon is the son of Canaan the grandson of Noah...
as far as Gerar
Gerar
Gerar - meaning "lodging-place" - was a Philistine town and district in what is today south central Israel. Archaeological evidence points to the town having come into existence with the arrival of the Philistines at around 1200 BC and having been little more than a village until 800-700...
, near Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
, and as far as Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and later expounded upon throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources....
. Among Shem’s descendants was Eber
Eber
Eber is an ancestor of the Israelites, according to the "Table of Nations" in and . He was a great-grandson of Noah's son Shem and the father of Peleg born when Eber was 34 years old, and of Joktan. He was the son of Shelah a distant ancestor of Abraham...
.
The Tower of Babel
Everyone on earth spoke the same language. As people migrated from the east, they settled in the land of Shinar. People there sought to make bricks and build a city and a tower with its top in the sky, to make a name for themselves, so that they not be scattered over the world. God came down to look at the city and tower, and remarked that as one people with one language, nothing that they sought would be out of their reach. God went down and confounded their speech, so that they could not understand each another, and scattered them over the face of the earth, and they stopped building the city. Thus the city was called BabelBabylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
.
The line of Terah
sets forth the descendants of Shem. Eight generations after Shem came TerahTerah
Terah or Térach is a biblical figure in the book of Genesis, son of Nahor, son of Serug and father of the Patriarch Abraham, all descendants of Shem. He is mentioned in the Hebrew bible and the New Testament.-Genesis narrative:...
, who had three sons: Abram (who would become Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
), Nahor
Nahor
Nahor, Nachor, or Naghor may refer to three different names in the Hebrew bible: two biblical people, who were both descendants of Shem, and one biblical place named after one of these descendants....
, and Haran
Haran
Haran or Aran is a figure in Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. Haran was born in Ur Kaśdim , the son of Terah and thus a descendant of Shem. Haran's brothers were Abram/Abraham and Nahor...
.
Haran had a son Lot and two daughters Milcah
Milcah
Milcah was thedaughter of Haran and the wife of Nahor in Genesis.Milcah was a woman of ancient Mesopotamia and an ancestor of the patriarch Jacob. Milcah was born to Haran, who had another daughter, Iscah. This Haran seemed to be different from Haran, Abraham's brother, who had a son, Lot...
and Iscah, and then died in Ur
Ur
Ur was an important city-state in ancient Sumer located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate...
during the lifetime of his father Terah. Abram married Sarai
Sarah
Sarah or Sara was the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. Her name was originally Sarai...
, and Nahor married Haran’s daughter Milcah. Sarai was barren. Terah took Abram, Sarai, and Lot and set out together from Ur for the land of Canaan, but when they had come as far as Haran, they settled there, and there Terah died.
Genesis chapter 11
While reports that Abram’s father Terah took Abram, Lot, and Sarai from Ur of the ChaldeesChaldea
Chaldea or Chaldaea , from Greek , Chaldaia; Akkadian ; Hebrew כשדים, Kaśdim; Aramaic: ܟܐܠܕܘ, Kaldo) was a marshy land located in modern-day southern Iraq which came to briefly rule Babylon...
to Haran, and subsequently reports God’s call to Abram to leave his country and his father’s house, Nehemiah
Book of Nehemiah
The Book of Nehemiah is a book of the Hebrew Bible. Told largely in the form of a first-person memoir, it concerns the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem by Nehemiah, a Jew who is a high official at the Persian court, and the dedication of the city and its people to God's laws...
reports that God chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees.
Genesis chapter 6
Interpreting the words, "Noah was a just man, and perfect in his generations," in Rabbi JohananYochanan bar Nafcha
Rabbi Yochanan ;...
taught that Noah was considered righteous in his generations, but would not have been considered righteous in other generations. Resh Lakish, however, maintained that if even in his generations Noah was able to be righteous, then he certainly would have been righteous in other generations. Rabbi Haninah compared Rabbi Johanan's view of Noah to a barrel of wine lying in a vault of acid. In its place, its aroma is fragrant (compared to that of the acid). Elsewhere, its aroma would not be considered fragrant. Rabbi Oshaia
Hoshaiah
Hoshaiah or Oshaya was a Palestinian amora of the 3rd and 4th amoraic generations. It is supposed that his colleague Hanina was his brother...
compared Resh Lakish's view of Noah to a vial of spikenard
Spikenard
Spikenard is a flowering plant of the Valerian family that grows in the Himalayas of China, also found growing in the northern region of India and Nepal. The plant grows to about 1 m in height and has pink, bell-shaped flowers...
oil lying amidst refuse. If it is fragrant where it is, how much more so would it be among spices! (Babylonian Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
Sanhedrin 108a.)
Similarly, Rabbi Judah
Judah ben Ilai
Judah bar Ilai, also known as Judah ben Ilai, Rabbi Judah or Judah the Palestinian , was a tanna of the 2nd Century and son of Rabbi Ilai I. Of the many Judahs in the Talmud, he is the one referred to simply as "Rabbi Judah" and is the most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah.Judah bar Ilai...
and Rabbi Nehemiah
Rabbi Nehemiah
Rabbi Nehemiah was an Israelite, circa AD 150 .He is attributed as the author of the Mishnat ha-Middot , making it the earliest known Hebrew text on geometry, although other historians assign to a later period by an unknown author...
differed interpreting the words, "Noah was a just man, and perfect in his generations," in Rabbi Judah taught that only "in his generations" was he a righteous man (by comparison). Had he lived in the generation of Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
or Samuel, he would not have been called righteous. Rabbi Judah said that in the street of the totally blind, the one-eyed man is called clear-sighted, and the infant is called a scholar. Rabbi Judah compared it to a man with a wine vault who opened one barrel and found it vinegar, opened another and found it vinegar, and opened a third to find it turning sour. When people told him that it was turning, he asked if the vault contained any better. Similarly, "in his generations" Noah was a righteous man. Rabbi Nehemiah, however, taught that if Noah was righteous even in his generation (in spite of the corrupt environment), how much more so would he have been, had he lived in the age of Moses. Rabbi Nehemiah compared Noah to a tightly closed vial of perfume in a graveyard, which nevertheless gave forth a fragrant aroma. How much more fragrant would it have been outside the graveyard. (Genesis Rabba
Genesis Rabba
Genesis Rabba is a religious text from Judaism's classical period. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletical interpretations of the Book of Genesis ....
h 30:9.)
Rabbi Judah contrasted the words "Noah walked with God" in with God’s words to Abraham, "walk before Me," in Rabbi Judah compared it to a king who had two sons, one grown up and the other a child. The king asked the child to walk with him. But the king asked the adult to walk before him. Similarly, to Abraham, whose moral strength was great, God said, "Walk before Me." But of Noah, who was feeble, says, "Noah walked with God." (Genesis Rabbah 30:10.)
Similarly, Rabbi Abba bar Kahana read together to report God saying, "I repent that I have made them and Noah." Thus even Noah, who was left, was not worthy, save that (in the words of ) "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." (Genesis Rabbah 31:1.)
The Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
concluded that the generation of the Flood and the generation of the dispersion after the Tower of Babel were both so evil as to have no share in the world to come. (Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:3; Babylonian Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
Sanhedrin 107b–08a.) Rabbi Akiba deduced from the words of that the generation of the Flood will have no portion in the world to come; he read the words "and every living substance was destroyed" to refer to this world and the words "that was on the face of the ground" to refer to the next world. Rabbi Judah ben Bathyra
Judah ben Bathyra
Judah ben Bathyra or simply Judah Bathyra was an eminent tanna. He must have lived before the destruction of the Temple, since he prevented a pagan in Jerusalem from partaking of the Paschal offering...
deduced from the words "My spirit will not always enter into judgment with man" of that God will neither revive nor judge the generation of the Flood on Judgment Day. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108a.)
The Tosefta
Tosefta
The Tosefta is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah.-Overview:...
taught that the generation of the Flood acted arrogantly before God on account of the good that God lavished on them. So (in the words of Job
Book of Job
The Book of Job , commonly referred to simply as Job, is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to God, and finally a response from God. The book is a...
) “they said to God: ‘Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of Your ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what profit should we have, if we pray unto Him?’” They scoffed that they needed God for only a few drops of rain, and they deluded themselves that they had rivers and wells that were more than enough for them, and as reports, “there rose up a mist from the earth.” God noted that they took excess pride based upon the goodness that God lavished on them, so God replied that with that same goodness God would punish them. And thus reports, “And I, behold, I do bring the flood of waters upon the earth.” (Tosefta Sotah 3:6–8.) Similarly, the Rabbis taught in a Baraita
Baraita
Baraita designates a tradition in the Jewish oral law not incorporated in the Mishnah. "Baraita" thus refers to teachings "outside" of the six orders of the Mishnah...
that the good that God lavished upon the generation of the Flood led them to become arrogant. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108a.)
Interpreting the words, "And the earth was corrupt before God," in a Baraita of the School of Rabbi Ishmael taught that whenever Scripture uses the word "corruption," it refers to sexual immorality and idolatry. Reference to sexual immorality appears in which says, "for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth" (and the use of the term "their way" connotes sexual matters, as Proverbs
Book of Proverbs
The Book of Proverbs , commonly referred to simply as Proverbs, is a book of the Hebrew Bible.The original Hebrew title of the book of Proverbs is "Míshlê Shlomoh" . When translated into Greek and Latin, the title took on different forms. In the Greek Septuagint the title became "paroimai paroimiae"...
indicates when it says, "the way of a man with a young woman"). And Deuteronomy shows that "corruption" connotes idolatry when it says, "lest you deal corruptly , and make a graven image." (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 57a.)
Rabbi Johanan deduced from the words "all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth" in that they mated domesticated animals with wild animals, and animals with humans. Rav Abba bar Kahana taught that after the Flood, they all returned to their own kind, except for the tushlami bird. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108a.)
Interpreting Rabbi Johanan deduced that the consequences of robbery are great. For though the generation of the Flood transgressed all laws, God sealed their decree of punishment only because they robbed. In God told Noah that "the earth is filled with violence (that is, robbery) through them, and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth." And Ezekiel
Book of Ezekiel
The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah and preceding the Book of the Twelve....
also states, "Violence (that is, robbery) is risen up into a rod of wickedness; none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor any of theirs; neither shall there be wailing for them." Rabbi Eleazar interpreted to teach that violence stood up before God like a staff, and told God that there was no good in any of the generation of the Flood, and none would bewail them when they were gone. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108a.)
Similarly, midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
interpreted the words, "the earth is filled with violence," in to teach that it was because they were steeped in robbery that they were blotted out from the world. (Genesis Rabbah 31:1; see also 31:2–4.)
Interpreting Rabbi Haninah told what the people of the age of the Flood used to do. When a person brought out a basket of beans for sale, one would come and seize less than the worth of the smallest coin in circulation, a perutah (and thus there was no redress under the law). And then everyone would come and seize less than a perutah's worth, so that the seller had no redress at law. Seeing this, God said that the people had acted improperly, so God would deal with them improperly (in a way that they would not relish). (Genesis Rabbah 31:5.)
Interpreting Rabbi Levi taught that "violence" connotes idolatry, sexual immorality, and murder, as well as robbery. Reference to sexual immorality appears in Jeremiah
Book of Jeremiah
The Book of Jeremiah is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the book of Isaiah and preceding Ezekiel and the Book of the Twelve....
which says, "The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon" (and שְׁאֵר, she'er refers to sexual immorality, for example, in Leviticus ). And reference to murder appears in Joel
Book of Joel
The Book of Joel is part of the Hebrew Bible. Joel is part of a group of twelve prophetic books known as the Minor Prophets or simply as The Twelve; the distinction 'minor' indicates the short length of the text in relation to the larger prophetic texts known as the "Major Prophets".-Content:After...
which says, "for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land." (Genesis Rabbah 31:6.)
Interpreting God’s words in "I will destroy them with the earth," Rav Huna
Rav Huna
Rav Huna , a Kohen, was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora of the second generation and head of the Academy of Sura; He was born about 216, died in 296-297 ).-Youth:...
and Rabbi Jeremiah
Rabbi Yirmeyah
R. Yirmeyah was a prominent Jewish Amora sage of the Land of Israel, of the fourth generation of the Amora era . He was born in Babylon and made Aliyah to the Land of Israel while he was still young. In The Land of Israel he learned under R...
in Rav Kahana's name taught that the Flood washed away even the three handbreadths of the Earth's surface that a plough
Plough
The plough or plow is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. It has been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture...
turns. It was as if a prince had a tutor, and whenever the prince did wrong, the king punished the tutor. Or it was as if a young prince had a nurse, and whenever the prince did wrong, the king punished the nurse. Similarly, God said that God would destroy the generation of the Flood along with the earth that nurtured them. (Genesis Rabbah 31:7.)
Rav Adda
Adda bar Ahavah
Adda bar Ahavah or Adda bar Ahabah is the name of two Jewish rabbis and Talmudic scholars, known as Amoraim, who lived in Babylonia.-The amora of the second generation:...
taught that the scholars of Rav Shila
Rav Shela
Shela was a Babylonian teacher of the latter part of the tannaitic and the beginning of the amoraic period, and head of the school at Nehardea . When Abba Arika visited Babylon, he once officiated as an expounder for R. Shela at his public lectures...
interpreted "gopher wood" in to mean mabliga (a resinous species of cedar), while others maintained it was golamish (a very hard and stone-like species of cedar). (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b.)
While tells that Noah’s Ark had pitch "within and without," Exodus tells that Jochebed
Jochebed
According to the Torah, Jochebed was a daughter of Levi and mother of Aaron, Miriam and Moses. She was the wife of Amram, as well as his aunt. No details are given concerning her life. According to Jewish legend, Jochebed is buried in the Tomb of the Matriarchs, in Tiberias.-Birth of Moses:The...
daubed the Ark of the infant Moses "with slime and with pitch." A Tanna
Tannaim
The Tannaim were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 70-200 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 130 years...
taught that the slime was inside and the pitch outside so that that righteous child would not have to smell the bad odor of the pitch. (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 12a.)
Rabbi Johanan interpreted the words, "A light shall you make to the Ark," in to teach that God instructed Noah to set therein luminous precious stones and jewels, so that they might give light as bright as noon . (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b.) Similarly, Rav Achava bar Zeira taught that when Noah entered the Ark, he brought precious stones and jewels with him to keep track of day and night. When the jewels shone dimly, he knew that it was daytime, and when they shone brightly, he knew that it was night. The Gemara
Gemara
The Gemara is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah. After the Mishnah was published by Rabbi Judah the Prince The Gemara (also transliterated Gemora or, less commonly, Gemorra; from Aramaic גמרא gamar; literally, "[to] study" or "learning by...
noted that it was important for Noah to be able to tell day from night, for some animals eat only during the day, and others east only during the night, and thus Noah could determine the proper feeding times for the animals under his care. The Gemara noted that if in God told Noah, “A window shall you make to the ark,” then Noah should have been able to tell day from night. The Gemara explained that Noah needed the jewels because the account of Noah bringing jewels into the Ark followed the view that the celestial bodies – including the sun – did not serve during the year of the Flood. (Thus, no sunlight entered the Ark, and must refer to jewels rather than a window.) (Jerusalem Talmud
Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
Pesachim 2a.)
The Gemara read the words, "and to a cubit shall you finish it upward," in to ensure that thus would it stand firm (with the sides of the roof sloping, so that the rain would fall off it). (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b.)
A Tanna read the words, "with lower, second, and third stories shall you make it," in to teach that the bottom story was for the dung, the middle for the animals, and the top for Noah’s family. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b.) A midrash, however, reported that some said that the words, "with lower, second, and third stories shall you make it," meant that the bottom story was for waste, the second for Noah’s family and the clean animals, and the third for the unclean animals. And the midrash reported that others said that the bottom story was for the unclean animals, the second for Noah’s family and the clean animals, and the top for the garbage. The midrash taught that Noah managed to move the waste by arranging a kind of trapdoor through which he shoveled it sideways. (Genesis Rabbah 31:11.)
Noting that calls Noah "a man," a midrash taught that wherever Scripture employs the term "a man," it indicates a righteous man who warned his generation. The midrash taught that for 120 years (deduced from ), Noah planted cedars and cut them down. When they would ask him what he was doing, he would reply that God had informed him that God was bringing a flood. Noah’s contemporaries replied that if a flood did come, it would come only on Noah’s father’s house. Rabbi Abba taught that God said that one herald arose for God in the generation of the Flood — Noah. But they despised him and called him a contemptible old man. (Genesis Rabbah 30:7.)
Similarly, Rabbi Jose of Caesarea read the words, "He is swift upon the face of the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth, he turns not by the way of the vineyards," in to teach that the righteous Noah rebuked his contemporaries. Noah urged them to repent, or God would bring a deluge upon them and cause their bodies to float upon the water like gourds, reading to say, "He floats lightly upon the face of the waters." Moreover, Noah told them that they would be taken as a curse for all future generations, as says, "their portion is cursed." And Rabbi Jose of Caesarea taught that the words, "he turns not by the way of the vineyards," indicate that as the people worked in their vineyards, they asked Noah what prevented God from bringing the Flood at that moment. And Noah replied that God had one dear one, one dove, to draw out before God could bring the Flood. (That is, the aged Methuselah
Methuselah
Methuselah is the oldest person whose age is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Extra-biblical tradition maintains that he died on the 11th of Cheshvan of the year 1656 , at the age of 969, seven days before the beginning of the Great Flood...
had to die first, so that he would not suffer the punishment of the Flood). (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108a.)
Similarly, a midrash taught that Noah reproved them, calling them good-for-nothings who forsook the One whose voice breaks cedars, to worship a dry log. But they reacted as in Amos
Book of Amos
The Book of Amos is a prophetic book of the Hebrew Bible, one of the Twelve Minor Prophets. Amos, an older contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah, was active c. 750 BCE during the reign of Jeroboam II, making the Book of Amos the first biblical prophetic book written. Amos lived in the kingdom of Judah...
which says, "They hate him that reproves in the gate, and they abhor him that speaks uprightly." (Genesis Rabbah 31:3.)
And Raba
Rava (amora)
For the third generation Amora sage of Babylon, with a similar name, see: Joseph b. Hama .Abba ben Joseph bar Ḥama, who is exclusively referred to in the Talmud by the name Rava , was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora, born in 270. He is one of the most often-cited Rabbis...
interpreted the words of "He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a stone despised in the thought of him that is at ease," to teach that when Noah rebuked them and spoke words as hard as fiery flints, they would deride him. They called Noah "old man," and asked him what the Ark was for. Noah replied that God was bringing a flood upon them. They asked with what God would flood the earth. If God brought a flood of fire, they said, they had a thing called alitha (that would extinguish fire). If God brought a flood of water up from the earth, they said, they had iron plates with which they could cover the earth (to prevent the water from coming up). If God brought a flood of water from heaven, they said, they had a thing called akob (or some say akosh) (that could ward it off). Noah replied that God would bring it from between the heels of their feet, as says, "He is ready for the steps of your feet." (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b.)
Similarly, a Baraita interpreted to teach that the waters of the Flood were as hot and viscous as bodily fluids. And Rav Hisda
Rav Chisda
Rav Chisda was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora of the third generation , mentioned frequently in the Talmud.-Youth:...
taught that since it was with hot passion that they sinned, it was with hot water that they were punished. For says, "And the water cooled" , and Esther
Book of Esther
The Book of Esther is a book in the Ketuvim , the third section of the Jewish Tanakh and is part of the Christian Old Testament. The Book of Esther or the Megillah is the basis for the Jewish celebration of Purim...
says, "Then the king's wrath cooled down" . (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b; see also Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 12a; Zevachim 113b.)
Rabbi Hanan said in the name of Rabbi Samuel ben Isaac that as soon as Noah entered the Ark, God prohibited his family from cohabitation, saying in "you shall come into the Ark, you, and your sons," speaking of them apart, and, "your wife, and your sons’ wives," speaking of them apart. When Noah left the Ark, God permitted cohabitation to him again, saying in "Go forth from the Ark, you and your wife," speaking of them together. (Genesis Rabbah 31:12.) Similarly, Rabbi Johanan deduced from the same sources that God had forbidden cohabitation for all the Ark’s inhabitants. The Rabbis taught in a Baraita that three nonetheless cohabited in the Ark — the dog, the raven, and Ham — and they were all punished. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b.)
Genesis chapter 7
Reading in the command that "of every clean beast you shall take seven, man and wife," the Gemara asked whether beasts have marital relationships. Rabbi Samuel bar NahmanSamuel ben Nahman
Samuel ben Nahman or Samuel Nahmani was a rabbi of the Talmud, known as an amora, who lived in the Land of Israel from the beginning of the 3rd century until the beginning of the 4th century. He was a pupil of R. Jonathan ben Eleazar and one of the most famous haggadists of his time...
said in Rabbi Jonathan
Rabbi Jonathan
Rabbi Jonathan was a Palestinian tanna of the 2nd century and schoolfellow of R. Josiah, apart from whom he is rarely quoted. Jonathan is generally so cited without further designation; but there is ample reason for identifying him with the less frequently occurring Jonathan b. Joseph Rabbi...
's name that the command means of those animals with which no sin had been committed (that is, animals that had not mated with other species). The Gemara asked how Noah would know. Rav Hisda taught that Noah led them past the Ark, and those that the Ark accepted had certainly not been the object of sin, while those that the Ark rejected had certainly been the object of sin. And Rabbi Abbahu
Abbahu
Abbahu was a Jewish Talmudist, known as an amora, who lived in the Land of Israel, of the 3rd amoraic generation , sometimes cited as R. Abbahu of Caesarea . His rabbinic education was acquired mainly at Tiberias, in the academy presided over by R. Johanan, with whom his relations were almost...
taught that Noah took only those animals (fulfilling that condition) that came of their own accord. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b; see also Zevachim 116a.) Similarly, Rav Hisda asked how Noah knew (before the giving of ) which animals were clean and which were unclean. Rav Hisda explained that Noah led them past the Ark, and those that the Ark accepted (in multiples of seven) were certainly clean, and those that the Ark rejected were certainly unclean. Rabbi Abbahu cited "And they that went in, went in male and female," to show that they went in of their own accord (in their respective pairs, seven of the clean and two of the unclean). (Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 116a.)
Reading in the command to take into the Ark "of the fowl also of the air, seven each," a midrash hypothesized that the command might have meant seven of each kind of animal (three of one gender and four of the other). But then one of them would lack a mate. Hence the midrash concluded that God meant seven males and seven females. Of course God did not need them, but they were to come (in the words of ) "to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth." (Genesis Rabbah 32:4.)
Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai taught that because the generation of the Flood transgressed the Torah that God gave humanity after Moses had stayed on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights (as reported in and and 18, 25, and ), God announced in that God would "cause it to rain upon the earth 40 days and 40 nights." Similarly, Rabbi Johanan taught that because the generation of the Flood corrupted the features that take shape after 40 days (in the womb), God announced in that God would "cause it to rain upon the earth 40 days and 40 nights, and every living substance that I have made will I blot out." (Genesis Rabbah 32:5.)
Cain and Abel
In the Hebrew Bible, Cain and Abel are two sons of Adam and Eve. The Qur'an mentions the story, calling them the two sons of Adam only....
. Rabbi Levi said in the name of Resh Lakish that God kept Cain’s judgment in suspense until the Flood and then God swept Cain away. And thus Rabbi Levi read to say, "And He blotted out every one that had arisen." (Genesis Rabbah 32:5.)
A midrash read the words "And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him," in narrowly to refer to the taking in of the animals, beasts, and birds. (Genesis Rabbah 32:5.)
The Gemara read to employ the euphemistic expression "not clean," instead of the brief, but disparaging expression "unclean," so as not to speak disparagingly of unclean animals. The Gemara reasoned that it was thus likely that Scripture would use euphemisms when speaking of the faults of righteous people, as with the words, "And the eyes of Leah
Leah
Leah , as described in the Hebrew Bible, is the first of the two concurrent wives of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob and mother of six of sons whose descendants became the Twelve Tribes of Israel, along with at least one daughter, Dinah. She is the daughter of Laban and the older sister of Rachel, whom...
were weak," in (Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 123a; see also Genesis Rabbah 32:4 (attributing a similar teaching to Rabbi Judan in Rabbi Johanan’s name).)
Reading in that "it came to pass, after seven days, that the waters of the Flood were upon the earth," the Gemara asked what the nature of these seven days was (that God delayed the Flood on their account). Rab
Abba Arika
Abba Arika was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora of the 3rd century who established at Sura the systematic study of the rabbinic traditions, which, using the Mishnah as text, led to the compilation of the Talmud...
taught that these were the days of mourning for Methuselah, and thus that lamenting the righteous postpones retribution. Another explanation is that during "the seven days" God reversed the order of nature (established at the beginning of creation), and the sun rose in the west and set in the east (so that sinners might be shocked into repentance). Another explanation is that God first appointed for them a long time (the 120 years to which alludes), and then a short time (a seven-day grace period in which to repent). Another explanation is that during "the seven days," God gave them a foretaste of the world to come, so that they might know the nature of the rewards of which they were depriving themselves. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b.)
Joshua ben Hananiah
Joshua ben Hananiah was a leading tanna of the first half-century following the destruction of the Temple. He was of Levitical descent , and served in the sanctuary as a member of the class of singers . His mother intended him for a life of study, and, as an older contemporary, Dosa b. Harkinas,...
and Rabbi Eliezer
Eliezer ben Hurcanus
Eliezer ben Hurcanus or Eliezer ben Hyrcanus , a Kohen, was one of the most prominent tannaim of the 1st and 2nd centuries, disciple of R. Johanan ben Zakkai and colleague of Gamaliel II, whose sister he married , and of Joshua ben Hananiah...
differed about when the events took place in where it says, "In the sixth hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month." Rabbi Joshua taught that the events of took place on the seventeenth day of Iyar
Iyar
Iyar is the eighth month of the civil year and the second month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. The name is Babylonian in origin. It is a spring month of 29 days. Iyar usually falls in April–June on the Gregorian calendar.In the Hebrew Bible, before the Babylonian Exile, the...
, when the constellation of the Pleiades
Pleiades (star cluster)
In astronomy, the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters , is an open star cluster containing middle-aged hot B-type stars located in the constellation of Taurus. It is among the nearest star clusters to Earth and is the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky...
sets at daybreak and the fountains begin to dry up. Because the generation of the Flood perverted its ways (from the way of creation), God changed for them the work of creation and made the constellation of the Pleiades rise at daybreak. God took two stars from the Pleiades and brought the Flood on the world. Rabbi Eliezer, however, taught that the events of took place on the seventeenth of Cheshvan
Cheshvan
Marcheshvan , sometimes shortened to Cheshvan , is the second month of the civil year and the eighth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew...
, a day on which the constellation of the Pleiades rises at daybreak, and the season when the fountains begin to fill. Because the generation of the Flood perverted its ways (from the way of creation), God changed for them the work of creation, and caused the constellation of the Pleiades to rise at daybreak. God took away two stars from it and brought the Flood on the world. If one accepts the view of Rabbi Joshua, then one can understand why speaks of the "second month" (to describe Iyar, because describes Nisan
Nisan
Nisan is the first month of the ecclesiastical year and the seventh month of the civil year, on the Hebrew calendar. The name of the month is Babylonian; in the Torah it is called the month of the Aviv, referring to the month in which barley was ripe. It is a spring month of 30 days...
as the first month, and Iyar follows Nisan). If one accepts Rabbi Eliezer's view, the "second month" means the month that is second to the Day of Judgment (Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah , , is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im which occur in the autumn...
, which recognizes as the beginning of a year when it says, "The eyes of the Lord are upon it (the Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
) from the beginning of the year"). If one accepts Rabbi Joshua's view, the change in the work of creation was the change in the constellation and the waters. If one accepts Rabbi Eliezer's view, the Gemara asked what change there was in the natural order (as the constellation usually rose at that time and that time of year is usually the rainy season). The Gemara found the answer in the dictum of Rabbi Hisda, when he said that with hot passion they sinned, and with hot waters were they punished. The Rabbis taught in a Baraita that the Sages of Israel follow Rabbi Eliezer in dating the Flood (counting Rosh Hashanah as the beginning of the year) and Rabbi Joshua in dating the annual cycles (holding that God created the world in Nisan). The scholars of other peoples, however, follow Rabbi Joshua in dating the Flood as well.
(Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 11b–12a.)
Rabbi Johanan taught that because the corruption of the generation of the Flood was great, their punishment was also great. characterizes their corruption as great , saying, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth." And characterizes their punishment as great , saying, "on the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up." Rabbi Johanan reported that three of those great thermal fountains remained open after the Flood — the gulf of Gaddor, the hot-springs of Tiberias, and the great well of Biram
Kfar Bar'am
Kfar Baram , also Kafr Bir'im or Kafar Berem, is the site of an ancient Jewish village in Northern Israel, 3 kilometers from the Lebanese border...
. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108a.)
The Gemara interpreted the words "every bird of any winged [species]" in The Gemara read the word "bird" here to refer only to clean birds, and "winged" to include both unclean birds and grasshoppers. (Babylonian Talmud Chullin 139b.)
In a Baraita, Rabbi Eleazar of Modi'im
Eleazar of Modi'im
Eleazar of Modi'im was a Jewish scholar of the second tannaitic generation , disciple of Johanan ben Zakkai , and contemporary of Joshua ben Hananiah and Eliezer ben Hyrcanus . He was an expert haggadist, and frequently discussed exegetical topics with his distinguished contemporaries...
interpreted "Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered." Rabbi Eleazar of Modi'im asked whether waters that measured fifteen cubits high on the mountains could also measure fifteen cubits in the valley. To do so, the waters would have to stand like a series of walls (terraced with the topography). And if so, the ark could not have come to rest on the top of the mountains. Rather, Rabbi Eleazar of Modi'im taught that all the fountains of the great deep came up first until the water was even with the mountains, and then the water rose fifteen more cubits. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 76a.)
Reading in that "all that was on the dry land died," the Gemara deduced that the fish in the sea did not die (apparently not having committed the transgressions that land animals had). (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108a; see also Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 113b.)
The Tosefta taught that the Flood killed people before animals (as seen in the order of ), because man sinned first (as shown in ). (Tosefta Sotah 4:11.)
Rabbi
Judah haNasi
Judah the Prince, or Judah I, also known as Rebbi or Rabbeinu HaKadosh , was a 2nd-century CE rabbi and chief redactor and editor of the Mishnah. He was a key leader of the Jewish community during the Roman occupation of Judea . He was of the Davidic line, the royal line of King David, hence the...
taught that, in conferring honor, the Bible commences with the greatest, in cursing with the least important. With regard to cursing, the Gemara reasoned that Rabbi must have meant the punishment of the Flood, as says, "And He blotted out every living substance which was upon the face of the ground, both man and cattle," starting with the people before the cattle. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 61a.)
Reading in that "every living substance was destroyed that was upon the face of the ground" — people and animals alike — the Gemara asked how the beasts had sinned (to deserve this punishment). A Baraita on the authority of Rabbi Joshua ben Karha
Joshua Ben Karha
Joshua Ben Karha , was a Jewish Tanna sage of the fourth generation. Colleague of Rabbi Meir and Shimon ben Gamliel II, and the disciplines of Akiva ben Joseph. Some are in the opinion that he is the son of R...
compared this to a father who set up a bridal canopy for his son, and prepared a banquet with every sort of food. But then his son died. So the father broke up the canopy, saying that he had prepared it only for his son. Now that the son was dead, the father had no need for a banquet. Thus God created the animals only for the benefit of people. Now that people had sinned, God had no need for the animals. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108a.)
The Mishnah taught that those who vow not to benefit from the children of Noah may not benefit from non-Jews, but may benefit from Jews. (Mishnah Nedarim 3:11; Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 31a.) The Gemara asked how Jews could be excluded from the “children of Noah,” as indicates that all humanity descended from Noah. The Gemara answered that since God singled out Abraham, Jews are considered descendants of Abraham. (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 31a.)
Genesis chapter 8
Reading "and he sent forth a raven" in Resh Lakish taught that the raven gave Noah a triumphant retort, arguing that both God and Noah must have hated the raven. It was evident that God hated the raven because God commanded Noah to save seven pairs of the clean creatures on the Ark, but only two of the unclean (among which the raven counted itself under ). And it was evident that Noah hated the raven because Noah had left in the Ark the species of which there were seven pairs, and sent one of which there were only two. If the angel of heat or cold had smitten the raven, the world would have been missing the raven’s kind. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b.)Similarly, interpreting the words, "and it went forth to and fro" in Rabbi Judan said in the name of Rabbi Judah ben Rabbi Simon that the raven began arguing with Noah. The raven asked Noah why of all the birds that Noah had in the Ark Noah sent none but the raven. Noah retorted that the world had no need of the raven; the raven was fit neither for food nor for sacrifice. Rabbi Berekiah
Rabbi Berekiah
R. Berekiah was a Jewish Amora sage of the Land of Israel, of the fourth generation of the Amora era. He is known for his work on the Aggadah, and there are many of his statements there, and many statements he delivered in the authority of other sages....
said in Rabbi Abba's name that God told Noah to take that back, because the world would need ravens in the future. Noah asked God when the world would need ravens. God replied that (in the words of ) "when the waters dry off from on the earth," a righteous man (Elijah) would arise and dry up the world (threatening drought, and then see the threat fulfilled). And God would cause him to have need of ravens, as 1 Kings
Books of Kings
The Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
reports, "And the ravens brought him bread and flesh." Rabbi Judah maintained that the word orvim referred to a town within the borders of Bashan
Bashan
Bashan or Basan is a biblical place first mentioned in , where it is said that Chedorlaomer and his confederates "smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth", where Og the king of Bashan had his residence. At the time of Israel's entrance into the Promised Land, Og came out against them, but was utterly routed...
called Arbo. But Rabbi Nehemiah insisted that literally meant ravens, and the ravens brought Elijah food from King Jehoshaphat
Jehoshaphat
Jehoshaphat was the fourth king of the The Kingdom of Judah, and successor of his father Asa. His children included Jehoram, who succeeded him as king...
's table. (Genesis Rabbah 33:5.)
From the discussion of the dove in Rabbi Jeremiah deduced that the clean fowl lived with the righteous people on the Ark. (Of the raven, says, "he sent forth a raven." But of the dove, says, "he sent forth a dove from him" indicating that the dove was with him.) (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b.)
Reading of the dove in "and lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf," a midrash asked where the dove found it. Rabbi Abba taught that the dove brought it from the young shoots of the Land of Israel. Rabbi Levi taught that the dove brought it from the Mount of Olives
Mount of Olives
The Mount of Olives is a mountain ridge in East Jerusalem with three peaks running from north to south. The highest, at-Tur, rises to 818 meters . It is named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes...
, for the Flood had not submerged the Land of Israel. Thus God told Ezekiel
Ezekiel
Ezekiel , "God will strengthen" , is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Ezekiel is acknowledged as a Hebrew prophet...
(in ): "Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon on the day of indignation.’" Rabbi Birai (or some say Rabbi Berekiah) taught that the gates of the Garden of Eden
Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden is in the Bible's Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
were opened for the dove, and from there the dove brought the olive leaf. Rabbi Abbahu asked if the dove had brought it from the Garden of Eden, would the dove not have brought something better, like cinnamon or a balsam leaf. But in fact the dove was giving Noah a hint, saying to him in effect that better is bitterness from God than sweetness from Noah’s hand. (Genesis Rabbah 33:6.)
Similarly, reading of the dove in "and lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf," Rabbi Eleazar (or others say Rabbi Jeremiah ben Eleazar) taught that the dove prayed to God that God might let the dove’s sustenance be as bitter as the olive but given by God, rather than sweet as honey and given by flesh and blood (upon whom the dove was therefore dependent). (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b (attributing to Rabbi Eleazar); Eruvin 18b (attributing to Rabbi Jeremiah ben Eleazar).)
A midrash taught that when says, "Bring my soul out of prison," it refers to Noah’s imprisonment 12 months in the Ark, and when says, "for You will deal bountifully with me," it refers to God’s bounty to Noah when God told Noah in "Go forth from the Ark." (Genesis Rabbah 34:1.)
Rabbi Johanan interpreted the words, "After their kinds they went forth from the Ark," in to teach that the animals went out by their families, not alone. Rabbi Hana bar Bizna taught that Abraham's servant Eliezer
Eliezer
For the mathematician and Tamil activist see C.J. Eliezer; for the AI researcher and writer on rationality see Eliezer Yudkowsky; for the Levite priest of the Hebrew Bible, see Eleazar...
once inquired of Noah’s son Shem about these words in asking Shem how his family managed. Shem replied that they had a difficult time in the Ark. During the day they fed the animals that usually fed by day, and during the night they fed those that normally fed by night. But Noah did not know what the chameleon
Chameleon
Chameleons are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of lizards. They are distinguished by their parrot-like zygodactylous feet, their separately mobile and stereoscopic eyes, their very long, highly modified, and rapidly extrudable tongues, their swaying gait, the possession by many of a...
ate. One day Noah was cutting a pomegranate
Pomegranate
The pomegranate , Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall.Native to the area of modern day Iran, the pomegranate has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. From there it spread to Asian areas such as the Caucasus as...
, when a worm dropped out of it, and the chameleon ate it. From then on, Noah mashed up bran for the chameleon, and when the bran became wormy, the chameleon would eat. A fever struck the lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
, so it lived off of its reserves rather than eating other animals. Noah discovered the avarshinah bird (some say the phoenix
Phoenix (mythology)
The phoenix or phenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indian and Phoenicians....
bird) lying in the hold of the Ark and asked it if it needed food. The bird told Noah that it saw that Noah was busy and decided not to give him any more trouble. Noah replied by asking that it be God’s will that the bird not perish, as says, "Then I said: ‘I shall die with my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the phoenix.’" (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b.)
A midrash recounted that Noah fed and provided for the Ark’s inhabitants for all of 12 months. But Rav Huna said in Rabbi Liezer's name that when Noah was leaving the Ark, a lion nonetheless set on him and maimed him, so that he was not fit to offer sacrifices, and his son Shem sacrificed in his stead. The midrash took this as an application of the words of "the righteous shall be requited on earth; how much more the wicked and the sinner." From this, the midrash inferred that if in spite of his comparative righteousness, Noah was punished for his sins, "how much more" was the generation of the Flood. (Genesis Rabbah 30:6.)
Rav Huna cited the report in that Noah offered burnt offerings from every clean animal and bird to support the proposition in a Baraita that all animals were eligible to be offered, as the words "animal" (behemah) and bird (bear) refer to any animal or bird, and the term "animal" (behemah) includes wild beasts (hayyah). (Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 115b.)
Rabbi Haninah cited the report of that "the Lord smelled the sweet savor; and . . . said . . . ‘I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake,’" for the proposition that those who allow themselves to be pacified when drinking wine possess some of the characteristics of the Creator. (Babylonian Talmud Eruvin 65a.)
Rav Awira (or some say Rabbi Joshua ben Levi
Joshua ben Levi
Joshua ben Levi or Yehoshua ben Levi was an amora who lived in the land of Israel of the first half of the third century. He headed the school of Lydda in the southern Land of Israel. He was an elder contemporary of Johanan bar Nappaha and Resh Lakish, who presided over the school in Tiberias...
) taught that the Evil Inclination has seven names. God called it "Evil" in saying, "the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth." Moses called it "the Uncircumcised" in saying, "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart." David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
called it "Unclean" in Solomon
Solomon
Solomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
called it "the Enemy" in Isaiah
Isaiah
Isaiah ; Greek: ', Ēsaïās ; "Yahu is salvation") was a prophet in the 8th-century BC Kingdom of Judah.Jews and Christians consider the Book of Isaiah a part of their Biblical canon; he is the first listed of the neviim akharonim, the later prophets. Many of the New Testament teachings of Jesus...
called it "the Stumbling-Block" in Ezekiel
Ezekiel
Ezekiel , "God will strengthen" , is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Ezekiel is acknowledged as a Hebrew prophet...
called it "Stone" in and Joel
Joel (prophet)
Joel was a prophet of ancient Israel, the second of the twelve minor prophets and the author of the Book of Joel. He is mentioned by name only once in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, in the introduction to his own brief book, as the son of Pethuel...
called it "the Hidden One" in (Babylonian Talmud Sukkah 52a.)
Genesis chapter 9
Rabbi Assi
Assi II was a Jewish Talmudist, known as an amora, who lived in the Land of Israel, of the third generation, 3rd and 4th centuries, one of the two Palestinian scholars known among their contemporary Jewish Talmudical scholars of Babylonian as "the judges of the Land of Israel" and as "the...
taught that the children of Noah were also prohibited to do anything stated in "There shall not be found among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one that uses divination, a soothsayer, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or one that consults a ghost or a familiar spirit, or a necromancer." (Genesis Rabbah 34:8.) The Tosefta instructed that Israelites should not tempt anyone to violate a Noahide law. (Tosefta Demai 2:24.)
Rabbi Shimon ben Eleazar deduced from that even a one-day-old child scares small animals, but said that the corpse of even the giant Og
Og
Og, according to the bible, was an Amorite king of Bashan who, along with his army, was slain by Moses and his men at the battle of Edrei...
of Bashan
Bashan
Bashan or Basan is a biblical place first mentioned in , where it is said that Chedorlaomer and his confederates "smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth", where Og the king of Bashan had his residence. At the time of Israel's entrance into the Promised Land, Og came out against them, but was utterly routed...
would need to be guarded from weasels and rats. (Tosefta Shabbat 17:19.)
Rabbi Tanhum ben Hanilai compared the laws of kashrut
Kashrut
Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
to the case of a physician who went to visit two patients, one whom the physician judged would live, and the other whom the physician judged would die. To the one who would live, the physician gave orders about what to eat and what not to eat. On the other hand, the physician told the one who would die to eat whatever the patient wanted. Thus to the nations who were not destined for life in the World to Come, God said in "Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you." But to Israel, whom God intended for life in the World to Come, God said in "These are the living things which you may eat." (Leviticus Rabbah
Leviticus Rabbah
Leviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayiqra Rabbah is a homiletic midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus . It is referred to by Nathan ben Jehiel in his Aruk as well as by Rashi in his commentaries on , and elsewhere. According to Leopold Zunz, Hai Gaon and Nissim knew and made use of it...
13:2.)
Rabbi Akiva
Rabbi Akiva
Akiva ben Joseph simply known as Rabbi Akiva , was a tanna of the latter part of the 1st century and the beginning of the 2nd century . He was a great authority in the matter of Jewish tradition, and one of the most central and essential contributors to the Mishnah and Midrash Halakha...
said that it demonstrated the value of human beings that God created us in God’s image, and that it was an act of still greater love that God let us know (in ) that God had created us in God’s image. (Mishnah Avot 3:14.) And Rabbi Akiva also said that whoever spills blood diminishes the Divine image. (Tosefta Yevamot 8:7.) Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah and Ben Azzai both said that whoever does not have children diminishes the Divine image as demonstrated by proximity of the notice that God created us in God’s image and the command to be fruitful and multiply . (Tosefta Yevamot 8:7.) Similarly, a midrash taught that some say a man without a wife even impairs the Divine likeness, as says, “For in the image of God made He man,” and immediately thereafter says, “And you, be fruitful, and multiply (implying that the former is impaired if one does not fulfill the latter). (Genesis Rabbah 17:2.)
Rabbi Meir
Rabbi Meir
Rabbi Meir or Rabbi Meir Baal Hanes was a Jewish sage who lived in the time of the Mishna. He was considered one of the greatest of the Tannaim of the fourth generation . According to legend , his father was a descendant of the Roman Emperor Nero who had converted to Judaism. His wife Bruriah is...
taught that while it was certain that God would never again flood the world with water , God might bring a flood of fire and brimstone, as God brought upon Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and later expounded upon throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources....
. (Tosefta Taanit 2:13)
Jose ben Halafta
Rabbi Jose ben Halafta or Yose ben Halafta was a Tanna of the fourth generation . Jose was a student of Rabbi Akiba and was regarded as one of the foremost scholars of halakha and aggadah of his day...
and Rabbi Judah disagreed whether verses of remembrance referring to the rainbow needed to be said together or individually. (Tosefta Rosh Hashanah 2:14)
The Gemara helped explain why (as reports) God chose a rainbow as the symbol of God’s promise. The Mishnah taught with regard to those who take no thought for the honor of their Maker, that it would have been better if they had not been born. (Mishnah Chagigah 2:1; Babylonian Talmud Chagigah 11b.) Rabbi Abba read this Mishnah to refer to those who stare at a rainbow, while Rav Joseph said that it refers to those who commit transgressions in secret. The Gemara explained that those who stare at a rainbow affront God’s honor, as compares God’s appearance to that of a rainbow: "As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord." Thus those who stare at a rainbow behave as if they were staring directly at God. Similarly, Rabbi Judah ben Rabbi Nahmani, the speaker for Resh Lakish, taught that because compares God’s appearance to that of a rainbow, staring at the rainbow harms one’s eyesight. (Babylonian Talmud Chagigah 16a.)
Abba Arika
Abba Arika was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora of the 3rd century who established at Sura the systematic study of the rabbinic traditions, which, using the Mishnah as text, led to the compilation of the Talmud...
and Rabbi Samuel
Samuel of Nehardea
Samuel of Nehardea or Samuel bar Abba was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an Amora of the first generation; son of Abba bar Abba and head of the Yeshiva at Nehardea. He was a teacher of halakha, judge, physician, and astronomer. He was born about 165 at Nehardea, in Babylonia...
) for what Ham did to Noah to warrant Noah's curse of Canaan. According to one explanation, Ham castrated
Castration
Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which a male loses the functions of the testicles or a female loses the functions of the ovaries.-Humans:...
Noah, while the other says that Ham sexually abused Noah. The textual argument for castration goes this way: Since Noah cursed Ham by his fourth son Canaan, Ham must have injured Noah with respect to a fourth son, by emasculating him, thus depriving Noah of the possibility of a fourth son. The argument for abuse from the text draws an analogy between "and he saw" written in two places in the Bible: With regard to Ham and Noah, it was written, "And Ham the father of Canaan saw the nakedness of his father (Noah)"; while in , it was written, "And when Shechem the son of Hamor saw her (Dinah
Dinah
According to the Hebrew Bible, Dinah was the daughter of Jacob, one of the patriarchs of the Israelites and Leah, his first wife. The episode of her abduction and violation by a Canaanite prince, and the subsequent vengeance of her brothers Simeon and Levi, commonly referred to as "The Rape of...
), he took her and lay with her and defiled her." Thus this explanation deduced that similar abuse must have happened each time that the Bible uses the same language. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 70a. See also Genesis Rabbah 36:7; Leviticus Rabbah 17:5.)
Genesis chapter 10
A BaraitaBaraita
Baraita designates a tradition in the Jewish oral law not incorporated in the Mishnah. "Baraita" thus refers to teachings "outside" of the six orders of the Mishnah...
employed to interpret the words "and Hebron was built seven years before Zoan
Tanis, Egypt
Tanis , the Greek name of ancient Djanet , is a city in the north-eastern Nile delta of Egypt. It is located on the Tanitic branch of the Nile which has long since silted up.-History:...
in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
" in Numbers
Book of Numbers
The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
to mean that Hebron was seven times as fertile as Zoan. The Baraita rejected the plain meaning of "built," reasoning that Ham would not build a house for his younger son Canaan (in whose land was Hebron) before he built one for his elder son Mizraim
Mizraim
Mizraim is the Hebrew name for the land of Egypt, with the dual suffix -āyim, perhaps referring to the "two Egypts": Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt....
(in whose land was Zoan, and lists (presumably in order of birth) "the sons of Ham: Cush, and Mizraim, and Put
Phut
Phut or Put is the third son of Ham , in the biblical Table of Nations .Put is associated with Ancient Libya by many early writers...
, and Canaan." The Baraita also taught that among all the nations, there was none more fertile than Egypt, for says, "Like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt." And there was no more fertile spot in Egypt than Zoan, where kings lived, for says of Pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
, "his princes are at Zoan." And in all of Israel, there was no more rocky ground than that at Hebron, which is why the Patriarchs buried their dead there, as reported in But rocky Hebron was still seven times as fertile as lush Zoan. (Babylonian Talmud Ketubot 112a.)
Rab and Samuel
Samuel of Nehardea
Samuel of Nehardea or Samuel bar Abba was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an Amora of the first generation; son of Abba bar Abba and head of the Yeshiva at Nehardea. He was a teacher of halakha, judge, physician, and astronomer. He was born about 165 at Nehardea, in Babylonia...
equated the Amraphel of with the Nimrod
Nimrod
Nimrod means "Hunter"; was a Biblical Mesopotamian king mentioned in the Table of Nations; an eponym for the city of Nimrud.Nimrod can also refer to any of the following:*Nimród Antal, a director...
whom describes as "a mighty warrior on the earth," but the two differed over which was his real name. One held that his name was actually Nimrod
Nimrod
Nimrod means "Hunter"; was a Biblical Mesopotamian king mentioned in the Table of Nations; an eponym for the city of Nimrud.Nimrod can also refer to any of the following:*Nimród Antal, a director...
, and calls him Amraphel because he ordered Abraham to be cast into a burning furnace (and thus the name Amraphel reflects the words for "he said" (amar) and "he cast" (hipil)). But the other held that his name was actually Amraphel, and calls him Nimrod because he led the world in rebellion against God (and thus the name Nimrod reflects the word for "he led in rebellion" (himrid)). (Babylonian Talmud Eruvin 53a.)
Genesis chapter 11
The Tosefta taught that the men of the Tower of Babel acted arrogantly before God only because God had been so good to them (in ) as to give them a single language and allow them to settle in Shinar. And as usage elsewhere indicated that "settle" meant "eat and drink" (see ), this eating and drinking was what led them to say (in ) that they wanted to build the Tower. (Tosefta Sotah 3:10.)Great Assembly
The Great Assembly or Anshei Knesset HaGedolah , also known as the Great Synagogue, was, according to Jewish tradition, an assembly of 120 scribes, sages, and prophets, in the period from the end of the Biblical prophets to the time of the development of Rabbinic Judaism, marking a transition from...
taught that wherever the Bible employs the term "and it was" or "and it came to pass" , as it does in it indicates misfortune, as one can read wa-yehi as wai, hi, "woe, sorrow." Thus the words, "And it came to pass," in are followed by the words, "Come, let us build us a city," in And the Gemara also cited the instances of followed by followed by Joshua
Book of Joshua
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land....
followed by the rest of followed by 1 Samuel
Books of Samuel
The Books of Samuel in the Jewish bible are part of the Former Prophets, , a theological history of the Israelites affirming and explaining the Torah under the guidance of the prophets.Samuel begins by telling how the prophet Samuel is chosen by...
followed by followed by close after followed by Ruth
Book of Ruth
The Book of Ruth is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, or Old Testament. In the Jewish canon the Book of Ruth is included in the third division, or the Writings . In the Christian canon the Book of Ruth is placed between Judges and 1 Samuel...
followed by the rest of and Esther
Book of Esther
The Book of Esther is a book in the Ketuvim , the third section of the Jewish Tanakh and is part of the Christian Old Testament. The Book of Esther or the Megillah is the basis for the Jewish celebration of Purim...
followed by Haman
Haman (Bible)
Haman is the main antagonist in the Book of Esther, who, according to Old Testament tradition, was a 5th Century BC noble and vizier of the Persian empire under King Ahasuerus, traditionally identified as Artaxerxes II...
. But the Gemara also cited as counterexamples the words, "And there was evening and there was morning one day," in as well as and So Rav Ashi replied that wa-yehi sometimes presages misfortune, and sometimes it does not, but the expression "and it came to pass in the days of" always presages misfortune. And for that proposition, the Gemara cited and (Babylonian Talmud Megillah 10b.)
The Sages taught that the God who punished the generation of the Flood and the generation of the Dispersion would take vengeance on people who renege on their word after money has been paid. (Mishnah Bava Metzia 4:2; Babylonian Talmud Bava Metzia 44a.)
The Gemara taught that Abraham asked God if God would ever punish Israel for its sins as God did to the generation of the Flood or the generation of the Dispersion, and God replied that God would not. God told Abraham that God had provided the order of sacrifices for Israel in the Torah, and whenever Jews read these passages, God would consider it as if they had offered the sacrifices, and God would pardon them for all their iniquities. (Babylonian Talmud Taanit 27b, Megillah 31b.)
The Gemara taught that Sarah was one of seven prophetesses who prophesied to Israel and neither took away from nor added anything to what is written in the Torah. (The other prophetesses were Miriam, Deborah
Deborah
Deborah was a prophetess of Yahweh the God of the Israelites, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel, counselor, warrior, and the wife of Lapidoth according to the Book of Judges chapters 4 and 5....
, Hannah
Hannah (Bible)
Hannah is the wife of Elkanah mentioned in the Books of Samuel. According to the Hebrew Bible she was the mother of Samuel...
, Abigail
Abigail
Abigail was the wife of Nabal; she became a wife of David after Nabal's death .In the passage, Nabal demonstrates ingratitude towards David, and Abigail attempts to placate David in order to stop him taking revenge...
, Huldah
Huldah
Huldah was a prophetess mentioned briefly in , and . After the discovery of a book of the Law during renovations at Solomon's Temple, on the order of King Josiah, Hilkiah together with Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan and Asaiah approach her to get the Lord's opinion....
, and Esther
Esther
Esther , born Hadassah, is the eponymous heroine of the Biblical Book of Esther.According to the Bible, she was a Jewish queen of the Persian king Ahasuerus...
.) The Gemara derived Sarah’s status as a prophetess from the words, "Haran, the father of Milkah and the father of Yiscah," in Rabbi Isaac taught that Yiscah was Sarah. called her Yiscah because she discerned (saketah) by means of Divine inspiration, as reports God instructing Abraham, "In all that Sarah says to you, hearken to her voice." Alternatively, called her Yiscah because all gazed (sakin) at her beauty. (Babylonian Talmud Megillah 14a.)
Rav Nahman
Rav Nachman
Rav Nachman bar Yaakov was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an Amora of the third generation, and pupil of Samuel of Nehardea. He was chief justice of the Jews who were subject to the exilarch , and was also head of the school of Nehardea...
said in the name of Rabbah bar Abbuha that the redundant report, "And Sarai was barren; she had no child," in demonstrated that Sarah was incapable of procreation because she did not have a womb. (Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 64b.)
Commandments
MaimonidesMaimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
cited the parshah for one positive commandment
Mitzvah
The primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
:
- To "be fruitful and multiply"
(Maimonides. Mishneh Torah
Mishneh Torah
The Mishneh Torah subtitled Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka is a code of Jewish religious law authored by Maimonides , one of history's foremost rabbis...
, Positive Commandment 212. Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt, 1170–1180. Reprinted in Maimonides. The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, 1:228. London: Soncino Press, 1967. ISBN 0-900689-71-4.)
The Sefer ha-Chinuch
Sefer ha-Chinuch
The Sefer ha-Chinuch , often simply "the Chinuch" is a work which systematically discusses the 613 commandments of the Torah. It was published anonymously in 13th century Spain...
, however, attributed the commandment to (Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 1:82–85. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1991. ISBN 0-87306-515-8.)
Haftarah
The haftarahHaftarah
The haftarah or haftoroh is a series of selections from the books of Nevi'im of the Hebrew Bible that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Jewish religious practice...
for the parshah is:
- for Ashkenazi JewsAshkenazi JewsAshkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
, Yemenite JewsYemenite JewsYemenite Jews are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen . Between June 1949 and September 1950, the overwhelming majority of Yemen's Jewish population was transported to Israel in Operation Magic Carpet...
, and Mizrahi JewsMizrahi JewsMizrahi Jews or Mizrahiyim, , also referred to as Adot HaMizrach are Jews descended from the Jewish communities of the Middle East, North Africa and the Caucasus...
: IsaiahBook of IsaiahThe Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
- for Sephardi JewsSephardi JewsSephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
: - for some Yemenite communities:
- for Italian Jews:
- for Karaite JewsKaraite JudaismKaraite Judaism or Karaism is a Jewish movement characterized by the recognition of the Tanakh alone as its supreme legal authority in Halakhah, as well as in theology...
: - for FrankfurtFrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
am Main and Chabad Lubavitch:
Connection to the Parshah
The parshah and haftarah both tell the power of God’s covenant. The parshah (in and ) and the haftarah (in ) both report God’s covenant with Noah never again to destroy the earth by flood. In the parshah (in ) and the haftarah (in ), God confesses to anger at human transgression. In the wake of God’s punishment, and and all use the words "no . . . more" (lo’ ‘od). The "righteousness" of Israel’s children in echoes that Noah is "righteous" in his age inIn the liturgy
God’s dominion over the Flood in is reflected in which is in turn one of the six Psalms recited at the beginning of the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service and again as the Torah is returned to the Torah ark at the end of the Shabbat morning Torah service. (Reuven HammerReuven Hammer
Reuven Hammer is a Conservative Jewish rabbi, scholar of Jewish liturgy, author and lecturer. He is a founder of the Masorti movement in Israel and a past president of the International Rabbinical Assembly. He served many years as head of the Masorti Beth Din in Israel...
. Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom
Siddur Sim Shalom
Siddur Sim Shalom may refer to any siddur in a family of siddurim, Jewish prayerbooks, and related commentaries on these siddurim, published by the Rabbinical Assembly and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism....
for Shabbat and Festivals, 20, 153. New York: The Rabbinical Assembly
Rabbinical Assembly
The Rabbinical Assembly is the international association of Conservative rabbis. The RA was founded in 1901 to shape the ideology, programs, and practices of the Conservative movement. It publishes prayerbooks and books of Jewish interest, and oversees the work of the Committee on Jewish Law and...
, 2003. ISBN 0-916219-20-8. Menachem Davis. The Schottenstein Edition Siddur for the Sabbath and Festivals with an Interlinear Translation, 69, 399. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications
ArtScroll
ArtScroll is an imprint of translations, books and commentaries from an Orthodox Jewish perspective published by Mesorah Publications, Ltd., a publishing company based in Brooklyn, New York...
, 2002. ISBN 1-57819-697-3.)
Some Jews read the words "for in the image of God made He man" from as they study chapter 3 of Pirkei Avot on a Sabbath between Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
and Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah , , is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im which occur in the autumn...
. (Davis.
Siddur for the Sabbath and Festivals, at 553.) And then they encounter the discussion of the ten generations from Adam to the Flood and then the ten generations from Noah to Abraham (enumerated in ) as they study chapter 5 of Pirkei Avot thereafter. (Davis, Siddur for the Sabbath and Festivals, at 568.)
Ancient
- Atra-HasisAtra-HasisThe 18th century BCE Akkadian epic of Atra-Hasis is named after its protagonist. An "Atra-Hasis" appears on one of the Sumerian king lists as king of Shuruppak in the times before the flood. The Atra-Hasis tablets include both a creation myth and a flood account, which is one of three surviving...
. Mesopotamia, 18th century BCE. In, e.g., W.G. Lambert and A.R. MillardAlan MillardAlan Ralph Millard is Rankin Professor Emeritus of Hebrew and Ancient Semitic Languages, and Honorary Senior Fellow , at the School of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology in the University of Liverpool....
, Atra-Hasis: The Babylonian Story of the Flood. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 1999. ISBN 1-57506-039-6 - Epic of GilgameshEpic of GilgameshEpic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literature. Scholars believe that it originated as a series of Sumerian legends and poems about the protagonist of the story, Gilgamesh king of Uruk, which were fashioned into a longer Akkadian epic much...
tablet 11. Mesopotamia, 14th–11th century BCE. In e.g. James B. PritchardJames B. PritchardJames Bennett Pritchard was an American archeologist whose work explicated the interrelationships of the religions of ancient Israel, Canaan, Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon...
. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 93–95. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969. ISBN 0-691-03503-2.
Biblical
(to be fruitful); (God’s destruction of Sodom and GomorrahSodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and later expounded upon throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources....
); (to be fruitful).(God’s destruction of Egypt’s firstborn)..; . (God’s destruction of Jerusalem’s sinners); (Noah as righteous intercessor).
Early nonrabbinic
- The Book of Noah. Jerusalem, early 2nd century BCE.
- The Genesis Apocryphon. Dead Sea scrollDead Sea scrollsThe Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts from the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical documents found between 1947 and 1956 on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, from which they derive their name...
1Q20. Land of Israel, 1st century BCE. Reprinted in Géza VermesGeza VermesGéza Vermes or Vermès is a British scholar of Jewish Hungarian origin and writer on religious history, particularly Jewish and Christian. He is a noted authority on the Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient works in Aramaic, and on the life and religion of Jesus...
. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, 448, 450–53. New York: Penguin Press, 1997. ISBN 0-7139-9131-3.
- JosephusJosephusTitus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
, Antiquities of the JewsAntiquities of the JewsAntiquities of the Jews is a twenty volume historiographical work composed by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in the thirteenth year of the reign of Roman emperor Flavius Domitian which was around 93 or 94 AD. Antiquities of the Jews contains an account of history of the Jewish people,...
1:3:2–3, 5, 7–8, 4:1, 6:1, 3–5. Circa 93–94. Reprinted in, e.g., The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by William WhistonWilliam WhistonWilliam Whiston was an English theologian, historian, and mathematician. He is probably best known for his translation of the Antiquities of the Jews and other works by Josephus, his A New Theory of the Earth, and his Arianism...
, 32–38. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1987. ISBN 0-913573-86-8. - Qur'anQur'anThe Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
3:33–34; 4:163; 6:84; 7:59–64; 9:70; 71:1–28. Arabia, 7th century.
Classical rabbinic
- MishnahMishnahThe Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
: Sanhedrin 10:3; Avot 3:14, 5:6. Land of Israel, circa 200 CE. Reprinted in, e.g., The Mishnah: A New Translation. Translated by Jacob NeusnerJacob NeusnerJacob Neusner is an American academic scholar of Judaism who lives in Rhinebeck, New York.-Biography:Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Neusner was educated at Harvard University, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America , the University of Oxford, and Columbia University.Neusner is often celebrated...
. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-300-05022-4. - ToseftaToseftaThe Tosefta is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah.-Overview:...
: Demai 2:24; Shabbat 17:19; Rosh Hashanah 1:3, 2:14; Taanit 2:13; Yevamot 8:7; Sotah 3:6–10, 4:11, 10:3; Bava Kamma 9:31; Sanhedrin 13:6–7; Avodah Zarah 8:4–6. Land of Israel, circa 300 CE. Reprinted in, e.g., The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction. Translated by Jacob Neusner. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 2002. ISBN 1-56563-642-2. - SifraSifraSifra is the Halakic midrash to Leviticus. It is frequently quoted in the Talmud, and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah, as appears from Tanḥuma, quoted in Or Zarua, i. 7b. Like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called "Torat Kohanim" , and in two passages also "Sifra debe...
34:1, 4; 35:2; 93:1; 99:5; 108:2; 109:3; 243:1. Land of Israel, 4th century CE. Reprinted in, e.g., Sifra: An Analytical Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 1:211, 214–15, 219; 2:87, 134, 173, 178; 3:286. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1988. Vol. 1 ISBN 1-55540-205-4. Vol. 2 ISBN 1-55540-206-2. Vol. 3 ISBN 1-55540-207-0.
- Jerusalem TalmudJerusalem TalmudThe Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
: Berakhot 40a, 45a; Pesachim 2a. Land of Israel, circa 400 CE. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Yerushalmi. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, vols. 1, 18. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2005–2011. - Genesis Rabbah 30:1–38:14. Land of Israel, 5th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
- Leviticus RabbahLeviticus RabbahLeviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayiqra Rabbah is a homiletic midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus . It is referred to by Nathan ben Jehiel in his Aruk as well as by Rashi in his commentaries on , and elsewhere. According to Leopold Zunz, Hai Gaon and Nissim knew and made use of it...
17:5. Land of Israel, 5th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Leviticus. Translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2. - Babylonian TalmudTalmudThe Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
: Berakhot 25b, 40a; Shabbat 31b, 109a, 113b, 137a, 150a, 151b; Eruvin 18a–b, 53a, 65a; Pesachim 3a, 54a; Yoma 9b–10a, 52b, 75a, 76a, 85a; Sukkah 52a; Rosh Hashanah 10b, 11b–12a; Taanit 19a, 27b; Megillah 9b, 14a, 17a; Moed Katan 25b; Chagigah 12a, 16a; Yevamot 62a, 63b, 64b; Ketubot 8a, 77b, 112a; Sotah 34b, 45b; Kiddushin 13a, 30b; Bava Kamma 91b; Bava Metzia 44a, 106b; Bava Batra 16b, 74a; Sanhedrin 17a, 24a, 38b, 44a, 56a–57b, 58b–59b, 69b–70a, 72b, 84b, 91a, 100b, 108a–09a; Makkot 8b, 11a; Shevuot 36a; Avodah Zarah 5a–6a, 11b, 19a, 23b, 51a; Horayot 13a; Zevachim 108b, 113b, 115b–16a; Chullin 23a, 89a, 102a, 139b; Bekhorot 46b, 57a; Temurah 28b; Keritot 6b; Meilah 16a. Babylonia, 6th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Bavli. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 vols. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.
Medieval
- RashiRashiShlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
. Commentary. Genesis 6–11. TroyesTroyesTroyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
, France, late 11th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Rashi. The Torah: With Rashi’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 1:65–114. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1995. ISBN 0-89906-026-9. - ZoharZoharThe Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...
59b–76b. Spain, late 13th century. Reprinted in, e.g., The Zohar. Translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon. 5 vols. London: Soncino Press, 1934.
Modern
- Thomas HobbesThomas HobbesThomas Hobbes of Malmesbury , in some older texts Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury, was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy...
. LeviathanLeviathan (book)Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil — commonly called simply Leviathan — is a book written by Thomas Hobbes and published in 1651. Its name derives from the biblical Leviathan...
, 3:34, 38. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. MacphersonC. B. MacphersonCrawford Brough Macpherson O.C. M.Sc. D. Sc. was an influential Canadian political scientist who taught political theory at the University of Toronto.-Life:...
, 430–31, 486. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. ISBN 0140431950. - "Mary Don't You WeepMary Don't You Weep"Mary Don't You Weep" is a Negro spiritual that originates from before the American Civil War – thus it is what scholars call a "slave song," "a label that describes their origins among the enslaved," and it contains "coded messages of hope and resistance." It is...
." United States, 19th century.
- Emily DickinsonEmily DickinsonEmily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life...
. Poem 48 (Once more, my now bewildered Dove). Circa 1858. Poem 403 (The Winters are so short —). Circa 1862. Poem 1473 (We talked with each other about each other). Circa 1879. In The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. Edited by Thomas H. Johnson, 27, 192, 623. New York: Little, Brown & Co., 1960. ISBN 0-316-18414-4. - Thomas MannThomas MannThomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
. Joseph and His BrothersJoseph and His BrothersJoseph and His Brothers is a four-part novel by Thomas Mann, written over the course of 16 years. Mann retells the familiar stories of Genesis, from Jacob to Joseph , setting it in the historical context of the Amarna Period...
. Translated by John E. WoodsJohn E. WoodsJohn E. Woods is a translator who specializes in translating German literature, since about 1978. His work includes much of the fictional prose of Arno Schmidt and the works of contemporary authors such as Ingo Schulze and Christoph Ransmayr...
, 5, 8–12, 15–16, 19–24, 35–36, 64, 68, 71, 73, 88–89, 107, 109, 154, 172, 183, 323–24, 333, 337, 339–41, 347, 355, 441–42, 447–48, 515, 547, 604–05, 715, 783, 806, 926. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-4001-9. Originally published as Joseph und seine Brüder. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943. - Jay MacphersonJay MacphersonJean Jay Macpherson is a Canadian lyric poet and scholar. The Encyclopædia Britannica calls her "a member of 'the mythopoeic school of poetry,' who expressed serious religious and philosophical themes in symbolic verse that was often lyrical or comic."-Life:Jay Macpherson was born in London,...
. The Boatman. Oxford Univ. Press Canada, 1957. - James BaldwinJames Baldwin (writer)James Arthur Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic.Baldwin's essays, for instance "Notes of a Native Son" , explore palpable yet unspoken intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in Western societies, most notably in mid-20th century America,...
. The Fire Next TimeThe Fire Next TimeThe Fire Next Time is a book by James Baldwin. It contains two essays: "My Dungeon Shook — Letter to my Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of Emancipation," and "Down At The Cross — Letter from a Region of My Mind." The first essay, written in the form of a letter to Baldwin's...
. 1963. Reprinted Modern Library, 1995. ISBN 0679601511. - Lloyd R. Bailey. Noah: The Person and Story in History and Tradition. University of South Carolina Press, 1989. ISBN 087249571X.
- Marc Gellman. Does God Have a Big Toe? Stories About Stories in the Bible, 27–45. New York: HarperCollins, 1989. ISBN 0-06-022432-0.
- Mario Brelich. Navigator of the Flood. Marlboro, Vermont: Marlboro Press, 1991. ISBN 0-910395-80-2.
- Elie WieselElie WieselSir Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel KBE; born September 30, 1928) is a Hungarian-born Jewish-American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of 57 books, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and...
. "Noah." In Sages and Dreamers: Biblical, Talmudic, and Hasidic Portraits and Legends, 19–34. New York: Summit Books, 1991. ISBN 0-671-74679-0.
- Robert A. Di Vito. "The Demarcation of Divine and Human Realms in Genesis 2–11." In Creation in the Biblical Traditions. Edited by Richard J. Clifford and John J. CollinsJohn J. CollinsJohn J. Collins is the Holmes Professor of Old Testament Criticism & Interpretation at Yale Divinity School. He is noted for his research in the Hebrew Bible, as well as the apocryphal works of the Second Temple period including the sectarian works found in Dead Sea Scrolls and their relation to...
, 39–56. Washington, D.C.: Catholic Biblical Association of America, 1992. ISBN 0-915170-23-X. - Neal StephensonNeal StephensonNeal Town Stephenson is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction.Difficult to categorize, his novels have been variously referred to as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, and postcyberpunk...
. Snow CrashSnow CrashSnow Crash is Neal Stephenson's third novel, published in 1992. Like many of Stephenson's other novels it covers history, linguistics, anthropology, archaeology, religion, computer science, politics, cryptography, memetics, and philosophy....
. New York: Bantam Spectra, 1992. ISBN 0-553-08853-X. - Aaron WildavskyAaron WildavskyAaron Wildavsky was an American political scientist known for his pioneering work in public policy, government budgeting, and risk management....
. Assimilation versus Separation: Joseph the Administrator and the Politics of Religion in Biblical Israel, 5. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 1993. ISBN 1-56000-081-3. - Jacob MilgromJacob MilgromJacob Milgrom was a prominent American Jewish Bible scholar and Conservative rabbi, best known for his comprehensive Torah commentaries and work on the Dead Sea Scrolls.-Biography:...
. "Bible Versus Babel: Why did God tell Abraham to leave Mesopotamia, the most advanced civilization of its time, for the backwater region of Canaan?" Bible ReviewBible ReviewBible Review was a publication that sought to connect the academic study of the Bible to a broad general audience. Covering both the Old and New Testaments, Bible Review presented critical and historical interpretations of biblical texts, and “reader-friendly Biblical scholarship” from 1985 to...
. 11 (2) (Apr. 1995). - Karen ArmstrongKaren ArmstrongKaren Armstrong FRSL , is a British author and commentator who is the author of twelve books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic nun, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and mystical faith...
. In the Beginning: A New Interpretation of Genesis, 39–53. New York: Knopf, 1996. ISBN 0-679-45089-0. - Norman CohnNorman CohnNorman Rufus Colin Cohn FBA was a British academic, historian and writer who spent fourteen years as a professorial fellow and as Astor-Wolfson Professor at the University of Sussex.-Life:...
. Noah's Flood: The Genesis Story in Western Thought. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1996. ISBN 0-300-06823-9. - Marc Gellman. God’s Mailbox: More Stories About Stories in the Bible, 24–29, 107–11. New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1996. ISBN 0-688-13169-7.
- Jacob Migrom. "The Blood Taboo: Blood should not be ingested because it contains life. Whoever does so is guilty of murder." Bible Review. 13 (4) (Aug. 1997).
- Adin SteinsaltzAdin SteinsaltzRabbi Adin Steinsaltz or Adin Even Yisrael is a teacher, philosopher, social critic, and spiritual mentor, who has been hailed by Time magazine as a "once-in-a-millennium scholar". He has devoted his life to making the Talmud accessible to all Jews...
. Simple Words: Thinking About What Really Matters in Life, 49. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999. ISBN 068484642X. - David M. Goldenberg. The Curse of Ham: Race and Slavery in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Princeton University Press, 2003. ISBN 069111465X.
- Joseph TelushkinJoseph TelushkinJoseph Telushkin is an American rabbi, lecturer, and author.-Biography:Telushkin attended the Yeshiva of Flatbush, was ordained at Yeshiva University, and studied Jewish history at Columbia University....
. The Ten Commandments of Character: Essential Advice for Living an Honorable, Ethical, Honest Life, 87–91, 275–78. New York: Bell Tower, 2003. ISBN 1-4000-4509-6. - David MaineDavid Maine-Personal life:David Maine was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and grew up in Farmington, Connecticut. Attended Oberlin College and the University of Arizona , where he graduated with a Masters of Fine Arts in creative writing....
. The Preservationist. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2004. ISBN 0-312-32847-8. - Kacy Barnett-Gramckow. The Heavens Before. Chicago: Moody, 2004. ISBN 0-8024-1363-3.
- Kacy Barnett-Gramckow. He Who Lifts the Skies. Chicago: Moody, 2004. ISBN 0-8024-1368-4.
- Kacy Barnett-Gramckow. A Crown in the Stars. Chicago: Moody, 2005. ISBN 0-8024-1369-2.
- Chris AdrianChris AdrianChris Adrian is an American author. Adrian's writing styles in short stories vary a great deal, from modernist realism to pronounced lyrical allegory. His novels both tend toward surrealism, having mostly realistic characters experience fantastic circumstances. He has written three novels: Gob's...
. The Children's Hospital. McSweeney's, 2006. ISBN 1932416609. - Esther JungreisEsther JungreisEsther Jungreis is the founder of the international Hineni movement in America. A Holocaust survivor, she has made it her life's mission to bring back Jews to Orthodox Judaism.-Biography:...
. Life Is a Test, 168, 218–19, 229–30. Brooklyn: Shaar Press, 2007. ISBN 1-4226-0609-0. - Suzanne A. Brody. "Coloring." In Dancing in the White Spaces: The Yearly Torah Cycle and More Poems, 63. Shelbyville, Kentucky: Wasteland Press, 2007. ISBN 1-60047-112-9.
- Jonathan GoldsteinJonathan Goldstein (author)Jonathan Stuart Goldstein is an American-Canadian author, humourist and radio producer. Goldstein is known for his work on the radio programs This American Life and WireTap.-Biography:...
. "Noah and the Ark" and "The Tower of Babel." In Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bible!Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bible!Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bible! is a book written by author and radio presenter Jonathan Goldstein. The book is a comedic retelling of the Old Testament stories such as Adam and Eve, Samson, Noah, and David and Goliath. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bible! also includes a story narrated by Joseph,...
44–78. New York: Riverhead Books, 2009. ISBN 978-1-59448-367-7.
See also
- Curse of HamCurse of HamThe Curse of Ham is a possible misnomer, for the Curse of Canaan. The curse refers to Noah cursing Ham's offspring Canaan, for Ham's own transgression against his father, according to Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. The debate regarding upon whom the curse fell has raged for at least two thousand...
- Noah in rabbinic literatureNoah in rabbinic literatureAllusions in rabbinic literature to the Biblical character Noah, who saved his family and representatives of all the animals from a great flood by constructing an ark, contain various expansions, elaborations and inferences beyond what is presented in the text of the Bible itself.-His...
- Seven Laws of Noah
Texts
- Masoretic text and 1917 JPS translation
- Hear the parshah chanted
- Hear the parshah read in Hebrew
Commentaries
- Academy for Jewish Religion, California
- Academy for Jewish Religion, New York
- Aish.com
- American Jewish University
- Anshe Emes Synagogue, Los Angeles
- Bar-Ilan University
- Chabad.org
- eparsha.com
- G-dcast
- The Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash
- Jewish Agency for Israel
- Jewish Theological Seminary
- Miriam Aflalo
- MyJewishLearning.com
- Ohr Sameach
- Orthodox Union
- OzTorah, Torah from Australia
- Oz Ve Shalom — Netivot Shalom
- Pardes from Jerusalem
- Parshah Parts
- Rabbi Dov Linzer
- RabbiShimon.com
- Rabbi Shlomo Riskin
- Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld
- Reconstructionist Judaism
- Sephardic Institute
- Shiur.com
- 613.org Jewish Torah Audio
- Tanach Study Center
- Teach613.org, Torah Education at Cherry Hill
- Torah from Dixie
- Torah.org
- Union for Reform Judaism
- United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth
- United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
- What’s Bothering Rashi?
- Yeshivat Chovevei Torah
- Yeshiva University